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An Epic View of the Moon In Earth's Orbital Embrace

Posted by samzenpus on from the pretty-pictures dept.

astroengine writes: As a suitably impressive follow-up to the new "blue marble" image of our world released in July, NASA shared a gorgeous animation created from pictures captured by NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft positioned nearly a million miles (1.5 million km) away — over four times farther than the moon. In a series of images acquired between 3:50 and 8:45 p.m. EDT on July 16, 2015, the moon can be seen passing in front of a rotating Earth, the warm gray face of its far side framed by the swirling-cloud-covered blue water of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The north pole is at the 11 o'clock position, illustrating our planet's 23.5-degree axial tilt.

77 comments

  1. Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    It's all low resolution and choppy, like 4 frames of animation. Even the Mexicans could have done better.

    1. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Besides, that's not "the Moon", the Moon doesn't look like anything like that. You can check for yourself, just go out and look at the real thing instead of some NASA "simulations", which are just stupid PR to get money for nothing.

    2. Re:Cool by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      It's the far side of the Moon. Unless you launch some kind of huge mirror, we are not going to be able to see it directly from Earth.

    3. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahahaha. You sheepeople will believe all kinds of crap they spoon-feed you. The far side, indeed.

    4. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The next thing you know he'll be saying the Earth is round.

    5. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On Slashdot and similar resources going out is not an option. Mom's basement is safe, stuffy and full of tasty morsels. Besides, you can read about ANYTHING on the INTERNET. See, there's a picture of the Moon going over the Earth. Now fap to it.

    6. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the Earth is round. Not round like a football ball, mind you, but sort of like a pancake, and floating on the backs of huge animals. Be that as it may, this thing on the photo is definitely not the Moon.

    7. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hard to believe it's just over 5000 years old.

    8. Re: Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My asshole very tasty for you.

    9. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Due to the libration of the Moon, about 9% of the far side is visible. If you look at map, you can see it is enough to see some areas characteristic of the far side, although at not very great viewing angles.

    10. Re:Cool by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      What is wrong with you losers -- These photos are supposed to have been taken by GoreSat 1.

      And Al Gore is fat.

      That is all you need to know.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    11. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's all low resolution and choppy, like 4 frames of animation. Even the Mexicans could have done better.

      Of course it is. You can't keep the secret alien bases hidden for very long if they showed too much detail. Silly!

    12. Re:Cool by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I know, right! It doesn't look a day over 4000 if you ask me...

      *sighs* I never *really* know what to expect. Poe? I think not. Maybe...

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  2. Beautiful. by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Truly beautiful.

    That is all.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    1. Re:Beautiful. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      It looks like shit. Fuck the Earth and moon.

  3. How many colors? by Sowelu · · Score: 0

    It's pretty cool but it also seems super low color, like someone converted it to gif with the standard websafe palette from the 90s. I was really hoping that this was hardware launched two decades ago, because then the colors would have felt very appropriate :/

    1. Re:How many colors? by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      I second that emotion.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    2. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what's this, but a second-hand emotion?

    3. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The youtube version shows a lot more color: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMdhQsHbWTs

      Unfortunately, because of the way the images were taken, with separate exposures for the red green and blue colors, the moon is slightly blurred and has a color fringe around it. This is further compounded by the extremely flat light, rendering the moon in the image rather featureless.

      What I found most interesting about this image is that it really shows how dark the moon is. It's something to think about when looking at the seemingly stark light of the full moon. Imagine how bright it would be if it was snow white.

    4. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Cow says Moooon....
      (Sorry about that.)

      One of the first things that people often do when they get a new camera with a decent long lens, is to take a picture of the Full Moon, and they almost always botch it.
      You need to use _manual_ exposure, ~300mm with an APS sensor, and shoot fast- say 1/1000 second, F11, at ASA 800. The Moon is _not_ blinding White, it is actually mottled Gray, as the composited video shows.
      Also, don't shoot a full Moon. Other than Tycho, the image will look "flat" and featureless. Shoot a Waning Gibbous Moon, over a few hours, and capture the craters as they go into shadow.
      I'm interested in what the next Solar Eclipse will look like, as captured by DSCOVR. Due to DSCOVR's offset from the Sun, we should see the Moon chasing its own shadow on Earth.
      That will be lovely.

    5. Re:How many colors? by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      What I found most interesting about this image is that it really shows how dark the moon is. It's something to think about when looking at the seemingly stark light of the full moon. Imagine how bright it would be if it was snow white.

      It doesn't look that dark to me; it looks about the same brightness as the land on Earth. I guess it's Earth that's rather bright because of all the H2O being quite reflective.

      --
      == Jez ==
      Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
    6. Re:How many colors? by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      I've taken some fantastic full moon photos. Manual mode, shutter at 1/160, aperture f16, ISO 100 (or just play with it to get the best shot for your camera). You can also adjust the aperture to suit the shot you like.

      You need a shutter speed at least 1/160 because the moon is actually moving. Bumping up the ISO + a faster shutter can work, too, but I like to keep it simple.

    7. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bad form and all that, but I'm replying to my own post...
      Twenty years ago, I handled a Moon Rock. Actually, it was a Moon Disk, sawn off of a Moon Rock. It was thin; maybe a tenth of a Millimeter thick.
      We bombarded the little thing with 136Xe+27, at 4.5 MeV/N, just below the Coulomb Barrier, so that we couldn't alter it, just tickle it.
      The Moon Disk was inserted into Gammasphere for the bombardments.
      We were looking for _anything_ in the Gamma Ray Spectra that couldn't be explained away by then current understandings.
      Alas, it was just Rock.
      Just like what is found on Earth, right down to the Isotope Ratios. (This was different from what we saw in Meteorite Spectra.)
      That, in hindsight, was very important.
      The Moon is Earth's Daughter.
      We just haven't worked out all the details.
      Yet.

    8. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A second handy motion?

    9. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Also took some fantastic full moon selfies, sent them to the mayor, ended up in the bin, again.

    10. Re:How many colors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What actually came down from the satellite is three single-channel frames taken about 30 seconds apart, each with a different filter. There are ten filters, but only the three associated with human color vision are used for this image.

    11. Re:How many colors? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Hey now... What's love got to do with it?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    12. Re:How many colors? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      My school, a private boarding school named Kent's Hill, was given a moon rock and it was in a special cabinet but we handled it in Geology. They came, later, and stole the rock back - said it was not allowed or something. I have no idea why. My understanding is that they then gave the school a tree. I am not sure how the tree was to replace the rock that they stole but, well, something about treaties and bad form? I really do not understand it, at all. They brought bag bags full of rocks and the school already had the rock - it was given. It was seemingly not lawfully given, again some treaty or something, and they took it back and gave them a tree. I do not know of any trees on the moon. I think there was a plaque with the tree but I think the plaque is no more. The plaque is on the quad near the student center and chow hall.

      As an aside and some pretty obvious shilling...

      For any parents who would like to send their children, and this is blatantly shilling but bear with me, then there are a number of scholarships available at Kent's Hill. It is a nice school with its own observatory, ice arena, alpine ski slope, and a very modern computer science laboratory. One of the scholarships is specifically for technical merit and is trivial to apply for. Said scholarship covers all tuition, room and board, and a stipend. Tuition includes all class and lab material. There is a certain amount of glee that would be had if a Slashdotter had a child take advantage of said scholarship - it is in a handy trust and will, ideally, survive forever and only increase over time. So, if someone applies for a scholarship at KH and is approved they should let me know.

      They are an excellent educational facility with lots of contacts across the globe. You would do well to send your children there and they have a very open policy about allowing alma mater to return to speak and allowing parents to visit and observe. Parents who are unable to afford such are often invited to stay in the Dean's House while they are there to observe their children or if there is some crisis that brings them there to their children. They have an adequate sports complex, more than adequate, but the emphasis is still on prep for further education as well as communication with others in that same environment. In other words, "They will teach your children how to talk like a fag and interact with educated people - not just to be educated." The food has electrolytes.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    13. Re:How many colors? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I guess it's Earth that's rather bright because of all the H2O being quite reflective.

      Liquid H2O has a few percent reflectivity, not that different to the Moon's basalt (more-or-less basalt, some anorthosite too). What makes the difference is the presence of floating aerosols of droplets of liquid H2O in the atmosphere of the Earth, which has a reflectivity up in the 60s and higher of percent.

      Phase matters. (And in this case, changing phase involves a lot of latent heat moving in either direction.)

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  4. That's no... by ichthus · · Score: 1

    "That's no moon"

    --
    sig: sauer
    1. Re:That's no... by hey! · · Score: 2

      ... "It's a binary planet."

      Seriously the Moon is crazy large relative to the Earth. The Earth-Moon doesn't currently meet the most commonly accepted definition of "binary planet", although it will in a hundred million years or so. On the other hand Isaac Asimov proposed a very reasonable definition of "binary planet" which the Earth/Moon system meets; you can read about it in the link above. I think it figured in one of the Foundation stories.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    2. Re:That's no... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      The earth-Moon system is not binary by strict definition, because the center of mass around which they orbit is still about 1,000 miles inside the Earth. But that's enough for the Earth to wobble noticeably as it orbits the Sun.

    3. Re:That's no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course that definition might upset some people since Pluto-Charon system is way above the threshold of one, in fact larger than the Saturn-Titan example they give in the Wikipedia article. It would make Pluto-Charon really far from being a double planet.

    4. Re:That's no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The earth-Moon system is not binary by strict definition

      Except that requires a strict definition to exist, which does not. There are several informal definitions, one of which you try to use. In fact, the very post you reply to and its link make that quite clear...

  5. Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by Thing+1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    They made up all that math. The Earth is flat, see "Zetetic Astronomy": http://www.sacred-texts.com/ea...

    --
    I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
    1. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      It's pitch black outside my house when I Skype with my friend in Japan. The sun is high in the sky there. Explain please.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    2. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You are full of shit, because EARTH HAS 4 CORNER SIMULTANEOUS 4-DAY TIME CUBE

    3. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      It's all explained right here, http://www.sacred-texts.com/ea...

      Any other questions?

    4. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      The sun sets every day by going below the horizon. This text claims it does not. Explain please.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    5. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by KGIII · · Score: 1

      You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    6. Re:Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 90 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I feel ashamed I've been on the internet all this time and never heard of time cube... until now. Thank you!

  6. Tides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can see the Moon gently pulling the Earth towards the bottom-left as it starts to overlap. Truly amazing.

    1. Re:Tides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can see the Moon gently pulling the Earth towards the bottom-left as it starts to overlap. Truly amazing.

      Nonsense. That's an error combining the frames into the video.

    2. Re:Tides by Fortran+IV · · Score: 1

      I agree. The entire image is only about four times the Moon's diameter wide, which means (if my calculations are correct, bwa ha ha!) the Moon only travels through about 1-1.5 degrees of arc during the video (which is why DSCOVR could shoot it in only 5 hours). The effective pull of the Moon on the Earth is pretty much straight toward the observer the whole time.

      But there are no real depth cues, so it's hard to judge that the two bodies are nearly a quarter-million miles apart.

      --
      I figure by 2030 or so my 6-digit UID will be something to brag about.
  7. Fake by steamraven · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Proof we didn't go to the moon or Pluto. #nasafake

    Seriously, does anyone else think it looks really fake?

    1. Re:Fake by PopeRatzo · · Score: -1, Troll

      The moon isn't even real. According to this researcher, it's just a hologram.

      https://youtu.be/_3axPn65MGM

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because it's a hologram doesnt make it less real.. that didnt stop goku from going ape super saiyyan remember?

    3. Re:Fake by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      I'd hesitate to call that person a "researcher". Those rolling distortions he filmed are pretty easily explained as some sort of atmospheric distortion - the very simplest possible explanation. Call me when we see a video of the moon with rippling distortions while filmed from orbit.

      I think the reason this particular NASA image looks "fake" is because we have no frame of reference for it. We almost never see the back side of the moon, nor are used to seeing it crossing in front of the Earth. Moreover, the way it's badly compressed into an animated gif makes it look even sketchier. Seriously, it's 2015. Do we not have anything better than gifs for animating small clips like this?

      What's funny is that I tend to believe it's real almost *because* it looks sort of hokey. It would be pretty easy to make a much more convincing CG animation that would look much more "realistic".

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    4. Re:Fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pretty easily explained as some sort of atmospheric distortion

      "explaining something" as "some kind of something" isn't explaining it at all. show us your assumptions and calculations, please.

    5. Re:Fake by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      show us your assumptions and calculations, please.

      The moon is not a giant hologram projected by alien technology.[1]

      [1] common fucking sense.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    6. Re:Fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Common fucking sense" is about on par with your previous "explanation", and the use of expletives clearly shows that you can't do the math on your own. More, you don't even have a qualitative idea how it may or may not work.

      You're the kind of useful idiot who will accept the explanation of the majority, because you're a part of the herd. So, give up already and say "I'm a blabbering conforming idiot who can't prove shit, but wants to pander to the slashdot groupthink" and be done with it. Don't pretend you know what you're talking about when, in fact, you have no clue.

    7. Re:Fake by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Just because it's a hologram doesnt make it less real.. that didnt stop goku from going ape super saiyyan remember?

      You make a very good point.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    8. Re:Fake by KGIII · · Score: 1

      What was obviously humor was taken serious and they thought you were trolling? Hmm... Maybe they have not seen your other comments? I thought it funny. I might have smoked a wee bit of weed but, still, I thought it was funny. Then again, the comments that are joking about the moon-landing being faked (obviously jokes) are modded down as well. Maybe it is a ritual that I do not understand.

      I have seen this sort of things in other, past articles, where obvious humor was assumed to be a troll or flamebait or whatnot. No, I do not know why. Maybe it is some sort of Poe's law variation or something? I have noticed that the "/s" (sarcastic indicator) seems to help with the confusion when I have seen it used. *shrugs* I do not moderate, as a general rule, so it is not something I really understand.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    9. Re:Fake by KGIII · · Score: 1

      You really can not prove anything, at all, exists with mathematics. You can only infer that your measuring is accurate. In other words, you can not prove that you are real - all you can prove is that you can measure it and observe it. You can not even be certain that you're measuring it in any valuable method. Math does not really prove anything other than the chance of something being true within an applied framework. It is really a matter of probabilities and certainly not proof - only that it can be shown to be consistent. At best you can only prove that our current understanding is correct. Applied Mathematics is a thing, for a reason.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    10. Re:Fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the distortions are due to his shit camera.

    11. Re:Fake by whodunit · · Score: 1

      Do we not have anything better than gifs for animating small clips like this?

      Webm. Its amazing and I'm shocked that so many people haven't caught the new wave yet.

  8. More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    People are literally starving to death while they throw away millions just to take pictures.

    1. Re:More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      And had we not spent the money, the same people would still be literally starving to death.

    2. Re: More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong. We Republicans would never be content with just letting you have-nots starve. We would never resort to such a passive measure. No, we would rampage through the slums you call homes, setting them on fire, hunting you down and then torture, rape and kill you. The only pictures we're interested in is of your faces flayed off, stretched and used as a grill ornament for our cars. That is the way of our kind.

    3. Re: More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't know people could eat rockets or satellites.
      Earth has enough resources for us to make food and launch rockets into space. Money spent on space does not destroy food and money is not food by itself.

    4. Re:More disgusting Republican corporate welfare by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      The "whitey is not on the moon, he's just taking photos" argument.

      P.S. This is GoreSat 1, the Republicans have spent decades trying to avoid it being launched.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
  9. Dis here iz sweet all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Yo da views o' da moon is awe-some. All o' da world's problems is small compared ta dis here great picture , wOrd homeboys!

    1. Re:Dis here iz sweet all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yo da views o' da moon is awe-some. All o' da world's problems is small compared ta dis here great picture , wOrd homeboys!

      Translation for English speakers: "The views of the moon are awesone. All of the world's problems are small compared to this great picture!"

    2. Re:Dis here iz sweet all by JazzLad · · Score: 1

      Excuse me, stewardess, I speak Jive

      --
      "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
    3. Re:Dis here iz sweet all by KGIII · · Score: 1

      You forgot the most imperative of questions my good sir or madam... "Y'ear me?" It seems silly to ask it so frequently. It is usually at loud volumes so, really, unless the indications are that one can not, in fact, hear them then they should, by all means, not need to inquire about it as loudly and frequently.

      I say this, as a mixed race and being a partially black person, "Cut that shit out." You're not a Verizon commercial. We have many, many dialects of English in this country - including Ebonics. None of them require such an inquiry and it really is a silly question. Body language, alone, should be the indicator that your audience can not hear you. At best the question is pertinent just once or twice.

      I am fluent in a number of regional Ebonics dialects (my inflection is off as I am not a native) and, really, I can generally tell if the person I am speaking to has a hearing disability. They will usually make it a point to let you know, actually. They will even let you know if they do not speak the language. Note: If they do not speak the language then, honestly, speaking it louder is unlikely to help.

      But, enough about me...

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  10. You can give this card a try and be rich by mccartkatty · · Score: -1

    HACK ATM AND BECOME RICH TODAY How to hack an ATM MACHINE or BANK ACCOUNT You can hack and break into a bank's security ATM Machine without carrying guns or any weapon. How is this possible? First of all we have to learn about the manual hacking of ATM MACHINES and BANKING ACCOUNTS HOW THE ATM MACHINE WORKS. If you have been to the bank you find out that the money in the ATM MACHINE is being filled right inside the house where the machine is built with enough security.to hack this machine We have develop the special blank ATM Card which you can use in any ATM Machine around the world. this card is been programmed and can withdraw 2000 USD within 24 hours in any currency your country make use of. The card will make the security camera malfunction at that particular time until you are done with the transaction you can never be trace. getting the card you will forward the company your address details so we can proceed to send the card to you once you agree to the terms and conditions. you can contact us on email now atmmachinehackes @ gmail com

    1. Re:You can give this card a try and be rich by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Easier and more fun to hack ATM machines with some acetelyne.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
  11. Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by CheeseyDJ · · Score: 2

    “It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon,” said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface.”

    The Moon has an albedo of about 0.1 (similar to coal), while Earth's albedo is three times greater, so this isn't really very surprising at all.

    1. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not surprised because of the water, but was pleasantly surprised at seeing the reflection of the moon on the ocean from a million miles.

    2. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just restating what it means to be "brighter". To remove the surprise you have to find a mundane explanation for the difference in albedo.

    3. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's one thing to know the numbers. It's another thing to see those numbers in action.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    4. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by CheeseyDJ · · Score: 1

      You're just restating what it means to be "brighter". To remove the surprise you have to find a mundane explanation for the difference in albedo.

      The surprise should be removed by the fact that we've known each body's albedo for decades. I was surprised that the a space scientist working on DSCOVR wasn't aware of the differences in albedo, or was aware but hadn't actually pictured the difference in his mind. It just seems odd for someone in his position to be surprised by this.

    5. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by doublebackslash · · Score: 1

      There is actually a concept that explains this sort of thing!
      It is called 'qualia'
      The big idea is that no matter how much you understand an idea, no matter how detailed your mathematics, abstract understanding, or information about underlying biological processes may be the actual experience is different than be be imagined or described. These experiences are qualia.

      Another way of thinking about it is a short story:
          Anne lives in a world that is monochrome. There is only shades of grey to her eyes. She has studied color, however. She understands the quantum mechanics of light emission, the wave particle duality, the idea of perception of color using cones in the eye, how that information is combined in the brain and can be distinguished. She has several PhDs on the topic of color in various disciplines.
          Anne then leaves the world without color and enters ours. She sees a blue sky for the first time.
          On that day Anne has learned something new about color.

      Even though that scientist could conceive of the brightness difference the experience could still surprise him.

      --
      md5sum /boot/vmlinuz
      d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e /boot/vmlinuz
    6. Re:Earth brighter than Moon - surprise? by Fortran+IV · · Score: 1

      Is that large bright area that stays centered in the Pacific the reflection of the Sun behind DSCOVR? If so, I'm surprised how large and diffuse it is. I suppose that even from a million miles away the surface of the ocean must be pretty rough.

      --
      I figure by 2030 or so my 6-digit UID will be something to brag about.
  12. NASA link by billybob2001 · · Score: 1

    Article on NASA site: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86353&src=iotdrss

  13. Epic ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it looks like animated bitmaps of early 90's PC games

  14. Re: Tilt isn't 23.5, it's 23.4, to get 66.6 from 9 by gmiller123456 · · Score: 1

    Easy: you're a heritic for questioning well established scientific principals. Plase report to the town square to be tarred and feathered. (Also, plase bring some tar and some feathers).