NASA, through its Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), has released new images of the moon that features its mysterious "dark side." The images were snapped last July 16 between 3:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. using DSCOVR's four megapixel Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) from one million miles away from the Earth, according to the press statement. This is the farthest capture of the Earth by a satellite.
In 1968, the widely popular Earthrise photo was shot from 240,000 miles away on Earth, while the image of the Blue Marble, taken in 1972, was at 28,000 miles.
"It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon," said Adam Szabo, a scientist for the DSCOVR project in the press statement. "Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface."
Meanwhile, photos of the moon's far side was first released in 1959 during the space mission of Soviet Luna 3, according to Mail Online. Scientists have since been curious about this mysterious part of the moon, which seldom faces the Earth as it rotates around its axis.
These recent images released are still test shots of the EPIC, the space agency said, and more images will be collected as DSCOVR, which has been launched in Feb. 11, proceeds with its mission.
A public website from NASA will be posted with images taken daily once the Epic officially begins its observation in September, according to Time Magazine.
In the meantime, here's a video of the moon photobombing the Earth:
