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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 July 20

                               Lunar Nearside
   Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance
                                   Orbiter

   Explanation: About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
   spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular
   view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar
   nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same
   rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration,
   the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing
   Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full
   resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded
   impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound
   skygazers. To find your favorite mare or large crater, just follow this
   link or slide your cursor over the picture. The LRO images used to
   construct the mosaic were recorded over a two week period in December
   2010.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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