▲ The Earth-Moon system seen from deep space 400,000 km away. Taken on January 26, 1998. (Source = NASA) What would the Earth and Moon look like if they were seen from deep space, about 400,000 km away, the distance between the Earth and the Moon?
In early January 1998, NASA’s Near Shoemaker spacecraft captured a photograph showing the Earth-Moon system. Near is an abbreviation for ‘Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous’, and Shoemaker was named in memory of astrophysicist Eugene M. Shoemaker.
This photo, taken in deep space about 400,000 km away from Earth, reproduces the relative size of the Earth and the Moon 4 to 1. However, for resolution purposes, the apparent brightness of the moon was increased by about five times.
The moon seen from deep space at a distance of 400,000 km has a dark brown color, while the Earth shines in various colors against the dark space background. The blue sea, swirling clouds, and bright, icy white Antarctica create a powerful feeling.
As Earth’s only satellite, it has no atmosphere or ocean, giving it a relatively flat feel, but it is one of the largest satellites in the solar system. It is even bigger than the dwarf planet Pluto.
The unmanned spacecraft Near Shoemaker, designed to orbit and explore the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros, used Earth’s gravity to change direction toward its final destination, asteroid 433 Eros. ▲ Graphic of the Near Shoemaker spacecraft orbiting and exploring the asteroid Eros. ( Source = NASA) The Near Shoemaker spacecraft, launched on February 17, 1996, left Earth’s orbit and passed close to asteroid 253 Matilda on June 27, 1997, at a distance of 1,200 km. Afterwards, the spacecraft arrived at 433 Eros in January 1999, circled around it and collected information, and landed at the asteroid’s saddle point (a point that is not the pole in a two-dimensional plane) on February 12, 2001. The entire mission ended on February 28.
Reporter Taehee Yoon th20022@seoul.co.kr
