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Japanese Probe Returns First HD Video of the Moon

Posted by Zonk on from the finally-we-can-see-the-cheese dept.

Riding with Robots writes "The Kaguya probe, now in lunar orbit, has sent down the first footage of the moon's surface from its onboard high-definition TV camera. The Kaguya mission, which consists of a main orbiter and two smaller satellites in a 100-km-high, polar orbit, is slated to officially begin its science phase in December."

2 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Roads on the moon? by Liquidrage · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I saw that same spot and actually paused it and rewinded it a few times to get a better look.

    It's very possible a collapsed lava tube, they call them sinuous rilles.

    http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/lunar/sin_rilles/Overview.html

  2. Second half is better by SiliconEntity · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I thought the second half of the footage was better, where the probe flies over the terminator into the dark side of the moon. The funny thing was at first in that segment I had the illusion of inverted relief, as though the craters were bumps. I kept telling myself that the sun was shining from over my right shoulder but I couldn't see it. Then suddenly as we get very close to the terminator and things were quite dark below, the terrain "popped" into correct relief and craters looked like craters again. An amusing optical illusion which often shows up when viewing alien landscapes, rather rare to see it disappear spontaneously like that.