05 November 2015

There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark.

The moon's albedo is actually quite low. The Earth is significantly brighter, thanks to the clouds and oceans... which are shiny enough that there's a visible highlight in the center of the disc from the sun directly behind the spacecraft. So in this image, with the brightness adjusted for the larger planet, you get to see the true color of our dry, airless companion world.

Suggested listening for the day: Albedo 0.39

Aug 5: From a Million Miles Away, NASA Camera Shows Moon Crossing Face of Earth