Trending: 5 Breathtaking Images Of Moon Captured In 2023 By ISRO, NASA And ISS

For centuries, the Moon has been the subject of poetry and paintings. Even space research agencies are mesmerised by the Earth’s only natural satellite. Agencies like ISRO, NASA, and ISS often share stunning photos of the Moon on their social media. These images are taken by a range of equipment from handheld cameras by astronauts to satellite cameras. In addition to capturing the Moon’s beauty, these photos, taken from thousands of miles away from Earth, also end up capturing additional details like the fascinating Earth’s surface, airglow, and different layers of atmosphere. Here are five ‘out of the world’ photos of the Moon shared by ISRO, NASA, and ISS in 2023:

Chandrayaan-3 Lander Taking Photos Of The Moon And Earth

Just a few days before Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the South Pole of the Moon on August 23, ISRO shared two photos on X that were taken by the lander’s camera. One photo captured the earth’s surface on the day of the mission’s launch and the other photo captured the Moon’s surface a day before the spacecraft entered the Moon’s orbit.

2. Moon From The Earth’s Orbit

NASA Earth shared a photo that showed the Moon peaking over Earth’s orbit. The photo was taken from ISS on June 8, 2023, when the spacecraft was orbiting 252 miles (406 kilometres) above Earth’s surface. The Earth’s surface shows a desert and Lake Assad in Syria. The photo captures the Moon in its “waning gibbous phase”.

A post shared by NASA Earth (@nasaearth)

3. Almost Full Moon Photo From 1968

In the last week of 2023, NASA shared a photo of the moon from the archives. The highly detailed photo of the “nearly full moon” was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft on Dec. 22, 1968. During the Appolo 8, the crew “circled the Moon 10 times on Christmas Eve” before they “headed home and successfully splashed down in the Pacific a couple of days later.”

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4. Moon Sets Beyond Earth’s Horizon

ISS shared a photo that captured “a waning gibbous moon sets just beyond the horizon of Earth’s atmosphere as the International Space Station soared 260 miles above the South Pacific Ocean.”

A post shared by International Space Station (@iss)

5. Moon Shines Above Earth’s Airglow

NASA took to Instagram to share a nighttime view of the Earth from the ISS that showed Moon centred over the Earth’s surface.

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Airglow encased the blue planet in yellow light as lights from the cities shined. In the caption, NASA mentioned that the concentrated patches of light were from Chicago and Denver in the USA.