NASA's camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured an image of the moon crossing the earth's face last month.
According to NASA, a variety of test pictures indicated the fully lit dark side of the moon that is never seen from the Earth. EPIC, which is a telescope and a 4-megapixel CCD camera on the DSCOVR satellite captured images of the moon orbiting a million miles away from the earth's surface.
Positioned between the sun and the Earth, DSCVOR carries out its main task of real-time solar wind observation for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
A report from CBC News indicates that EPIC will commence systematic observations in September. The camera is designed to assist scientists examine daily changes of the planet by availing photos of ozone, aerosols, cloud height, and vegetation.
Two times a year, EPIC will capture the moon and the earth together as the movement of DSCOVR crosses the orbital path of the moon.
Images of the moon captured by EPIC present a new development in the study of the moon as it orbits the earth. The dark side of the moon had never been seen before until 1959 when the Soviet Luna 3 spaceship returned the first images.
It is difficult to capture the dark side of the moon since it faces an observer on earth because of the moon being tidally locked to the Earth. As a result, the moon's orbital time is the same as its revolution about its axis.
An analysis of the recent images reveals that the lunar far side of the Moon has no large, dark, basaltic plains, or maria, that are so notable on the side facing the earth. The prime far side components are the Tsiolkovskiy depression in the lower leftward and the Mare Moscoviense in the upper leftward.