Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Lunar Farside

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 30, 2016 is “Lunar Farside,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The original explanation runs about 133 words.

Lunar Farside
Credit: Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Tidally locked in synchronous rotation , the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth . From lunar orbit , the Moon’s farside can become familiar, though.”

— APOD editors, December 30, 2016

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 30, 2016
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 133 words

All of December 2016 → · 2016 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Moon

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 30 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.