KAGUYA 'Full Earth-Rise' in HD

The phenomenon expressed as a "Full Earth-Rise" can be seen from a satellite that fly around the Moon such as the KAGUYA (SELENE) or the Apollo manned spacecraft. The Earth is almost stationary when it is observed on the Moon, thus a Full Earth-Rise coming out from the horizon cannot be seen on the Moon.

KAGUYA is currently flying in a lunar orbit at an altitude of about 100 km.

An "Earth-rise," or the rising Earth over the Moon, was captured for the second time following the first movie shooting on April 6, 2008. The latest success was a very precious moment because it was one of only two chances in a year for the KAGUYA to capture a Full Earth-Rise when the orbits of the Moon, the Earth, the Sun and the KAGUYA are all lined up.

The shooting was performed by the NHK HDTV onboard the KAGUYA. The movie data was captured at JAXA, then processed by NHK.

• Full Earth-rise taken by the KAGUYA HDTV tele camera (480x270px)
• Full Earth-set taken by the KAGUYA HDTV wide camera (480x270px)
• Full Earth rise and set taken by the KAGUYA HDTV (1280x720px)

Credit: JAXA/NHK.
High resolution image

The location on the Moon is around the North Pole on the near side at a north latitude of 74° or higher. You can see Australia on the lower left and the Eurasian to European Continents and the Arabian Peninsula in the center to the left of the Earth image.

The "full earth-rise" movie data taken this time cover the areas of Eurasia, including Japan, Europe and Africa. The Eurasian Continent and Australia can clearly be seen, but clouds cover Japan due to an Autumnal rain front and a typhoon. The latest movie data was taken from the KAGUYA flying over the North Pole of the Moon looking at the Earth with its northern hemisphere upward.




Credit: JAXA/NHK.
High resolution image

The Rising Earth from the horizon of the Moon. From left to right, it took about 40 seconds for the Earth to fully rise.

Source: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
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