Original Caption Released with Image:
On December 16, 1992, 8 days after its encounter with Earth, the Galileo
spacecraft looked back from a distance of about 6.2 million kilometers
(3.9 million miles) to capture this remarkable view of the Moon in orbit
about Earth. The composite photograph was constructed from images taken
through visible (violet, red) and near-infrared (1.0-micron) filters. The
Moon is in the foreground; its orbital path is from left to right. Brightly
colored Earth contrasts strongly with the Moon, which reflects only about
one-third as much sunlight as our world. To improve the visibility of both
bodies, contrast and color have been computer enhanced. At the bottom of
Earth's disk, Antarctica is visible through clouds. The Moon's far side can
also be seen. The shadowy indentation in the Moon's dawn terminator--the
boundary between its dark and lit sides--is the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one
of the largest and oldest lunar impact features. This feature was studied
extensively by Galileo during the first Earth flyby in December 1990.
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Galileo Solid State Imaging Team Leader: Dr. Michael J. S. Belton
The SSI Education and Public Outreach webpages were originally created and
managed by Matthew Fishburn and Elizabeth Alvarez with significant assistance
from Kelly Bender, Ross Beyer, Detrick Branston, Stephanie Lyons, Eileen Ryan,
and Nalin Samarasinha.
Last updated: September 17, 1999, by Matthew Fishburn
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