Crush
03-07-2011, 09:19 AM
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/116932598.html
Ever since NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html) began circling the Moon at low altitude in mid-2009, planetary scientists and the public have marveled at the incredible trove of observations it's been beaming back to Earth. Most often in the spotlight are the jaw-dropping closeups of Apollo landing sites (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/70099067.html) by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). It can resolve the surface at 2 feet (0.5 m) per pixel — good enough to reveal even the paths worn in the lunar soil by the astronauts' boots.
The work of LROC's wide-angle camera, which provides surface context for those incredible narrow-angle shots, has largely gone unheralded … until now. This past week the team released a new mosaic of the Moon's near side taken entirely with wide-angle frames. Acquired during a two-week period in December, the 1,300 black-and-white frames create a full-disk mosaic measuring 24,000 pixels across. Gulp!
Ever since NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html) began circling the Moon at low altitude in mid-2009, planetary scientists and the public have marveled at the incredible trove of observations it's been beaming back to Earth. Most often in the spotlight are the jaw-dropping closeups of Apollo landing sites (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog/70099067.html) by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). It can resolve the surface at 2 feet (0.5 m) per pixel — good enough to reveal even the paths worn in the lunar soil by the astronauts' boots.
The work of LROC's wide-angle camera, which provides surface context for those incredible narrow-angle shots, has largely gone unheralded … until now. This past week the team released a new mosaic of the Moon's near side taken entirely with wide-angle frames. Acquired during a two-week period in December, the 1,300 black-and-white frames create a full-disk mosaic measuring 24,000 pixels across. Gulp!