Explanation:
No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this.
That's because the Earth's moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us
only one side.
Given modern digital technology, however, combined with many detailed images returned
by the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high
resolution virtual
Moon rotation movie has been composed.
The featured time-lapse video
starts with the standard Earth
view of the Moon.
Quickly, though,
Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark center
that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just below the equator.
From an entire
lunar month condensed into 24 seconds,
the video clearly shows that the Earth side of
the Moon contains an abundance of
dark lunar maria,
while the lunar far side is dominated by bright
lunar highlands.
Currently, over 19 new missions to the Moon are under active development from eight different
countries, most of which have expected launch dates in the next three years.
Notable Images of Comet NEOWISE Submitted to APOD: July
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