Hi, all,
 
I suggest not trying to download unless you aren't needing your computer for a 
while.
My computer is new, and it took about fifteen minutes.
 
I think it is worth the time, if you appreciate our little buddy. 
 
Cheers,
Pete

 
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/116932598.html
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/116932598.html
 
 
A Half-Gigabyte View of the Moon
 
 
Ever since NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter began circling the Moon at low 
altitude in mid-2009, planetary scientists and the public have marveled at the 
incredible trove of observations it's been beaming back to Earth. Most often in 
the spotlight are the jaw-dropping closeups of Apollo landing sites by the 
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). It can resolve the surface at 2 
feet (0.5 m) per pixel — good enough to reveal even the paths worn in the lunar 
soil by the astronauts' boots.
 
A new 24,000-pixel-square mosaic from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows 
the Moon's nearside as never before. Click here for a larger (but not 
full-size!) version; a labeled version is here.
NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ.The work of LROC's wide-angle camera, which 
provides surface context for those incredible narrow-angle shots, has largely 
gone unheralded … until now. This past week the team released a new mosaic of 
the Moon's near side taken entirely with wide-angle frames. Acquired during a 
two-week period in December, the 1,300 black-and-white frames create a 
full-disk mosaic measuring 24,000 pixels across. Gulp!
"As the Moon rotated under LRO's orbit," explains LROC team leader Mark 
Robinson (Arizona State University), "the ground track progressed from east to 
west (right to left in this mosaic)." The image run was timed to keep the Sun 
high up in the lunar sky but not straight overhead (its altitude varied from 
69° to 82°). This created enough shadowing to define crater rims and other 
topography crisply, unlike the shadow-free view that we see during a full Moon. 
The combined image shows slight banding where the 1,024-pixel-wide swaths were 
stitched together.
 
A close-up of Rupes Recta (usually called the Straight Wall) from the new LROC 
mosaic of the lunar nearside. Located near the eastern edge of Mare Nubium, 
this steep-faced scarp is about 70 miles (114 km) long.
NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ.Weighing in at just 2 pounds (0.9 kg), LROC's 
wide-angle camera is small enough to fit in your hand. It features an aperture 
only 1.2 mm across and a focal length of just 6 mm (for visible-light work). 
Yet from LRO's very low orbit, currently only 20 miles (30 km) up, this mighty 
mite can pick out surface details as small as 250 feet (75 m). Click here to 
view the specifications for LROC's wide- and narrow-angle cameras.
The image looks dark because Robinson and his team have kept the Moon as it 
really is: dark. On average, the lunar surface reflects only about 12% of the 
sunlight that strikes it. So a full Moon really isn't dazzlingly bright — it 
only looks that way to our eyes because of the contrast with the black sky 
around it.
If your computer's up to it, you can download the full half-gigabyte mosaic 
here.
                                          
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