Lunar Observations and Phases

Various high-quality images of the moon in different phases, captured through telescopes, showcasing details of its surface and texture against a dark backdrop.

Moon in Gibbous Phase over a dark sky

Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope. Full moon seen with telescope

AS11-44-6667 (21 July 1969) --- This outstanding view of the whole full moon was photographed from the Apollo 11 spacecraft during its trans-Earth journey homeward. When this picture was taken, the spacecraft was already 10,000 nautical miles away. Onboard Apollo 11 were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) Eagle to explore the moon, astronaut Collins remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) Columbia in lunar orbit.

The Moon, captured at a focal length of 800mm

Moon in Gibbous Phase over a dark sky

Waxing crescent moon seen with telescope Waxing crescent moon seen with an astronomical telescope - 3:2 format in black and white taken with my own telescope, no NASA images used Copyright: xZoonar.com/adminx 11037328

Full moon seen with telescope Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope, high resolution composite stacked colour image, improved contrast Copyright: xZoonar.com/adminx 10483027

Full moon at night. Grass in the foreground. Perfect for background, copy-space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA . Full moon at night. Grass in the foreground. Perfect for background, copy-space

The 17 day old waning gibbous moon.

Close-up of moon surface craters

Traveling west to east, the full moon, viewed from Merritt Island, Fla., at 10:18 p.m. EST, begins moving into the Earth's shadow, at the start of a lunar eclipse. Eclipses occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up. They are rare because the Moon usually passes above or below the imaginary line connecting Earth and the Sun. The Earth casts a shadow that the Moon can pass through -when it does, it is called a lunar eclipse. They can only occur when the moon is "full." During a total lunar eclipse the Moon takes on a dark red color because it is being lighted slightly by sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere and this light has the blue component preferentially scattered out (this is also why the sky appears blue from the surface of the Earth), leaving faint reddish light to illuminate the Moon during the eclipse

Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope

Moon, illustration.

ISS032-E-011472 (1 Aug. 2012) --- One of the Expedition 32 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station capturedthis image of the full moon on Aug. 1, 2012. Other pictures in this series depict a totally different image of Earth's natural satellite because of distortion caused by the atmosphere.

The Moon

The 18-day-old waning gibbous moon.

Waning gibbous. Rises after sunset, high in the sky after midnight, visible to the southwest after sunrise. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been in orbit around the Moon since the summer of 2009. Its laser altimeter (LOLA) and camera (LROC) are recording the rugged, airless lunar terrain in exceptional detail, making it possible to visualize the Moon with unprecedented fidelity. This is especially evident in the long shadows cast near the terminator, or day-night line. The pummeled, craggy landscape thrown into high relief at the terminator would be impossible to recreate in the computer without global terrain maps like those from LRO. To download, learn more about this visualization, or to see what the Moon will look like at any hour in 2015, visit a href= http //svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto 4236 rel= nofollow svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto 4236 /a b a href= http //www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html rel= nofollow NASA image use policy. /a /b b a href= htt

Full moon seen with telescope, enhanced colours Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope, with heavily enhanced colours to show the real colours of terrain surface Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 9417458

Full moon seen with telescope Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 14235801

Moon with telescope night sky Moon with telescope night sky Copyright: xZoonar.com/AleksandarxVukicevicx 20082649

Retro look Moon Vintage looking Moon almost full seen from the northern hemisphere with a telescope Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 5788188

iss062e137200 (April 6, 2020) --- A waxing gibbous Moon is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited above North America.

Full moon seen with telescope, enhanced colours. Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope, with enhanced colours to show the real colours of terrain surface - with copy space

14 day old moon with south polar region.

Full moon seen with a telescope from northern emisphere - Isolated overblack background

A panorama or mosaic of the 10-day-old gibbous Moon, on March 16, 2019, showing the full disk and extent of incredible detail along the terminator, the dividing line between the day and night sides of the Moon where the Sun is rising as seen from the surface of the Moon. At bottom in the south, the large crater Clavius and above it Tycho in the Southern Highlands are well placed the the dawn sunlight. Tycho is brightening and its rays are beginning to light up and become more obvious splashing

Lunar Observations. iss069e037324 (July 26, 2023) -- Earth's Moon in first quarter phase as United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi captured this photo aboard the International Space Station.

Fisrt quarter moon

Waning gibbous moon Waning gibbous moon, almost full moon, seen with an astronomical telescope photo taken with my own telescope, no NASA images used Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 9352112

ISS015-E-09940 (29 May 2007) --- A gibbous moon is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 15 crewmember on the International Space Station.

The moon, March 19, 2019 Moon closeup showing the details of the lunar surface. March 19, 2019 Copyright: xZoonar.com/DavidxAcostaxAllelyx 21207938

Scientists believe dust launched from the moon could reduce solar radiation enough to lessen the impact of climate change. A new paper, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS Climate (Public Library of Science), explores the potential of using moon dust to block just enough of the suns radiation to mitigate the effects of global warming. The scientists tested several scenarios involving different particle properties and quantities in different orbits, looking for the one that would throw the most shade and they found the Moon dust worked best. The quantities needed, they said, would require the equivalent of a major mining operation on Earth. Tehatta, West Bengal; India.

Waxing gibbous. Visible to the southeast in early evening, up for most of the night. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been in orbit around the Moon since the summer of 2009. Its laser altimeter (LOLA) and camera (LROC) are recording the rugged, airless lunar terrain in exceptional detail, making it possible to visualize the Moon with unprecedented fidelity. This is especially evident in the long shadows cast near the terminator, or day-night line. The pummeled, craggy landscape thrown into high relief at the terminator would be impossible to recreate in the computer without global terrain maps like those from LRO. To download, learn more about this visualization, or to see what the Moon will look like at any hour in 2015, visit a href= http //svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto 4236 rel= nofollow svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto 4236 /a b a href= http //www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html rel= nofollow NASA image use policy. /a /b b a href= http //www.nasa.gov/center

The 10 day old gibbous moon.

A mosaic of the 11-day-old gibbous Moon, on March 17, 2019, showing the full disk and extent of incredible detail along the terminator, the dividing line between the day and night sides of the Moon where the Sun is rising as seen from the surface of the Moon. At bottom in the south, Tycho is brightening and its rays are now obvious splashing across the lower half of the Moon. At lower left on the terminator is the elongated crater Schiller. The rim of another large crater, Schickard, is just b

Full moon seen with telescope. Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope

Moon, computer artwork.

ISS007-E-05441 (13 May 2003) --- View of a gibbous Moon photographed by an Expedition Seven crewmember on board the International Space Station (ISS). The image was taken two days prior to the occurrence of a total lunar eclipse, which was photographed by astronaut Edward T. Lu, NASA ISS science officer.

super blood moon total eclipse super blood moon during a total eclipse Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 18661832

Full moon seen with telescope

Full moon seen with telescope Full moon over dark black sky seen with a telescope Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 9122754

The Moon, captured at a focal length of 800mm

The moon, March 19, 2019 Moon closeup showing the details of the lunar surface. March 19, 2019 Copyright: xZoonar.com/DavidxAcostaxAllelyx 21207900

Half Moon Background, Gibbous moon Earth's natural satellite

Full moon at closest proximity to earth, August 2014.

iss055e000034 (Feb. 28, 2018) --- A waxing gibbous moon was pictured above the Earth's limb as the International Space Station orbited over the southern Indian Ocean just southwest of the African continent.

Full moon with partial eclipse

Moon Background being Earth’s only permanent natural satellite.. Moon Background being Earth’s only permanent natural satellite

Waxing crescent. Visible toward the southwest in early evening. This marks the first time that accurate shadows at this level of detail are possible in such a computer simulation. The shadows are based on the global elevation map being developed from measurements by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). LOLA has already taken more than 10 times as many elevation measurements as all previous missions combined. The Moon always keeps the same face to us, but not exactly the same face. Because of the tilt and shape of its orbit, we see the Moon from slightly different angles over the course of a month. When a month is compressed into 12 seconds, as it is in this animation, our changing view of the Moon makes it look like it's wobbling. This wobble is called libration. The word comes from the Latin for "balance scale" (as does the name of the zodiac constellation Libra) and refers to the way such a scale tips up and down on alterna

iss059e027725 (April 21, 2019) --- The moon is photographed in its waning gibbous phase just above the Earth's limb as the International Space Station orbited 258 miles above the North Atlantic Ocean just off the Canadian-American coast.

First quarter moon seen with an astronomical telescope, high resolution. First quarter moon seen with telescope

The moon, March 16, 2019 Moon closeup showing the details of the lunar surface. March 16, 2019 Copyright: xZoonar.com/DavidxAcostaxAllelyx 21207889

The Moon

The March 5 mini-Moon,” the apogee Moon, the most distant Full Moon of 2015. I processed this image with greatly enhanced vibrance, saturation and contrast to exaggerate the subtle differences in colour in the lunar maria, due to differences in the mineral content of the lava flows that formed the mare ~3.5 to 4 billion years ago. The relatively new impact crater, Tycho, is the bright area at bottom (south) on the luanr disk with bright splash rays emanating from the crater. I shot this with a

6.5 day moon with Lunar X and V formations on the terminator.

This narrow angle image taken NASA's Cassini's camera system of the Moon is one of the best of a sequence of narrow angle frames taken as the spacecraft passed by the Moon on the way to its closest approach with Earth on August 17, 1999.

The feature known as Lunar-X visible on the moon's surface.

High contrast Waxing crescent moon seen with telescope High contrast Waxing crescent moon seen with an astronomical telescope Copyright: xZoonar.com/adminx 11812623

NASA's Galileo spacecraft took this image of Earth's moon on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin.

First quarter moon seen with telescope First quarter moon seen with an astronomical telescope, high resolution Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 14209366

Gibbous moon Waxing gibbous moon over dark sky at night Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 6051494

iss064e048273 (March 28, 2021) --- A Full Moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles over China.

The waxing moon, Planet, Planets, Astronomy, Luna

ISS036-E-006147 (4 June 2013) --- One of the Expoedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space Station captured an image of a crescent moon on June 4, 2013.

Super moon, full moon shoot in Austria 2020. Astronomy concept

First quarter moon seen with telescope in black and white First quarter moon seen with an astronomical telescope, dark sky in black and white Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 16989443

Full moon seen with telescope

Moon and stars Full moon with stars - seen through my own telescope no NASA images used Copyright: xZoonar.com/adminx 9105515

Lunar Eclipse, Sunday 7 September 2025

A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.

The moon, March 16, 2019 Moon closeup showing the details of the lunar surface. March 16, 2019 Copyright: xZoonar.com/DavidxAcostaxAllelyx 21207928

Mond mit Schatten im Sternenhimmel. Mondoberfläche mit Kratern *** Moon with Shadows at Starry sky Lunar surface with Craters 1102805032

Germany, Frankfurt on Main, total lunar eclipse

iss064e038372 (Feb. 26, 2021) --- A full Moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the Washington-Oregon border in northwestern United States.

Moon, computer artwork.

Dark side of the Moon, computer artwork.

STS103-E-5040 (21 December 1999) --- This photo of the Moon over the airglowof Earth's atmosphere was taken by the STS-103 crew members aboard Discovery. Time of the electronic still camera's (ESC) image was 15:15:41 GMT, Dec. 21, 1999.

moon Full Moon in High Resolution with stars in the background Copyright: xZoonar.com/gannaxacheretx 1246952

. iss068e027836 (Dec. 8, 2022) --- The Full Moon is pictured setting below Earth's horizon from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean. At the time of this photograph the Orion vehicle on the Artemis I mission was about 207,200 miles from Earth and 180,400 miles from the Moon, cruising at 1,415 mph.

Moon and stars sepia Full moon with stars - seen through my own telescope no NASA images used vintage sepia Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 9386937

Phases of the Moon. Moon lunar cycle

Germany, composite sequence of total lunar eclipse

iss064e048655 (March 30, 2021) --- A waning gibbous Moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 269 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina.

A full moon mostly covered by Earth's shadow during a lunar eclipse against a black starless sky

A partial eclipse on Florida's Space Coast, the rare astronomical event was photographed from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building, as the Moon passed between Earth and the midafternoon Sun. The Moon's shadow moved across the landscape from Oregon to South Carolina. The 70-mile-wide totality path, or "umbral cone" -- where the entire Sun will vanish behind the Moon -- stretched across 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina.

Full moon seen with telescope Full moon over dark black sky seen with a telescope Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 9118666

Quarter view of the Moon

S103-E-5037 (21 December 1999)--- Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery recorded this rarely seen phenomenon of the full Moon partially obscured by the atmosphere of Earth. The image was recorded with an electronic still camera at 15:15:15 GMT, Dec. 21, 1999.

Full moon The full moon in the night sky Copyright: xZoonar.com/gannaxacheretx 4003343

The moon

Full moon over blue sky Full moon seen with astronomic telescope over blue sky in the morning Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 22214975

The moon

1950S Close-Up Of Moon

A composite of the various stages of the entire October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse.

Full moon Full moon seen from a telescope from northern emisphere Copyright: xZoonar.com/ClaudioxDiviziax 6199844

Moon with realistic texture map, 3D rendering Moon with realistic texture map, 3D rendering isolated on white background Copyright: xZoonar.com/alexlmxx 21223784

ISS008-E-08950 (December 2003) --- A partial moon is visible in this view of Earths horizon and airglow, photographed by an Expedition 8 crewmember onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

High contrast Full moon seen with telescope, enhanced colours, isolated High contrast Full moon seen with an astronomical telescope, with enhanced colours to show the real colours of terrain surface - isolated over white background, with craters and mountains visible on the border Copyright: xZoonar.com/adminx 11733480

ISS012-E-19253 (12 Feb. 2006) --- A full moon is visible in this view above Earths horizon and airglow, photographed by an Expedition 12 crewmember on the International Space Station.

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