Mountains of the Moon

Early this morning (at 7:30am UT / 2:30am EDT) May 3, 2011, the Moon once again passed in front of SDO's view of the Sun, allowing mission scientists to calibrate their cameras by focusing on the fine details of the mountains silhouetted along the Moon's limb.

 

The image here is a crop from the high-resolution AIA 171 image, showing the Sun's corona behind the Moon's southwestern limb. Viewing it full-size will show the ragged, mountainous line of the lunar landscape. (Image slightly adjusted to enhance detail.)

 

Watch a video of the event on Universe Today: www.universetoday.com/85356/sdo-the-moon-gets-in-my-way/

 

Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Edited by J. Major.

 

www.lightsinthedark.com

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