Choose a moment: watch the terminator move and discover features where the Sun illuminates the surface at a low angle.
Lunar north up. View from Earth’s centre, with a constant diameter. NASA/LRO photographic texture and calculated global lighting; fine mountain shadows are not simulated.
These suggestions use each feature’s centre: it must be illuminated and far enough from the apparent edge of the disc. They do not guarantee that every detail will be visible in your instrument.
| Marker | Feature | Local Sun | Landscape |
|---|
The boundary between day and night gradually crosses the lunar landscape. A low Sun casts long shadows: rims, peaks and valleys stand out more clearly. The same place changes appearance over the hours.
The list ranks features by increasing solar altitude above their horizon. Very close to 0°, actual terrain may still hide the Sun: the calculation uses a spherical Moon.
The Moon almost always presents the same hemisphere to us, but its orientation wobbles slightly. Libration gives the longitude and latitude of the point facing Earth’s centre. A positive longitude favours the eastern limb; a positive latitude favours the northern limb.
Advance the date to see details move across the disc. This view keeps lunar north up: the apparent tilt in your sky and inversions from your instrument are not reproduced.
Geometry: Astronomy Engine 2.1.19, IAU lunar orientation and geocentric positions. Texture: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, CGI Moon Kit — Ernie Wright; LRO/LROC/LOLA data. The texture is designed for visualisation, not scientific measurements.
The geometry was compared at 37 times spread across the NASA SVS 2026 ephemerides : maximum differences in sub-Earth and subsolar coordinates remain below 0.01°. At these same times, the distance difference remains below 60 km; distance is displayed to the nearest hundred kilometres. This check does not guarantee accuracy for every date offered.
Input range: 1900–2100. Eclipses, terrain blocking the Sun, weather, turbulence and parallax specific to your location are not simulated. The night side is slightly brightened to retain its outline; this is not an earthshine calculation. All required resources are hosted with the site.
Phase calendar · Missions and landings · Understanding eclipses
