The Earth and the moon, as seen from Mars, via a composite image from four sets of images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, captured on Nov. 20, 2016. Each image was processed separately prior to combining to ensure the moon is visible, and retains the correct sizes and positions of both relative to each other.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA released a composite image of Earth and the moon on Friday, combining the best image of Earth with the best image of the moon.
The images were captured on Nov. 20, 2016 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. At the time, Mars was about 127 million miles from Earth.
Both images were processed separately and then combined due to the difference in the brightness of both bodies. “The moon is much darker than Earth and would barely be visible at the same brightness scale as Earth,” NASA said.
The image still reflects the correct size and positions of both bodies.
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