Illumination at the Moon's South Pole, 2023 to 2030
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- Visualizations by:
- Ernie Wright
- View full credits
The visualizations on this page simulate the lighting at the South Pole of the Moon in the years 2023 to 2030 at two-hour intervals, a total of 35,064 time steps or frames. The field of view encompasses the area south of 88° south latitude.
Global terrain mapping by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's laser altimeter, LOLA, makes it possible to simulate sunlight and shadow on the Moon at any date in the past or future. This will be vital for planning exploration of the lunar South Pole, where the low Sun angle and rugged terrain produce a uniquely challenging lighting environment.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Visualizer
- Ernie Wright (USRA) [Lead]
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Planetary scientist
- Noah Petro (NASA/GSFC)
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Technical support
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
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LRO DEM (Digital Elevation Map)
ID: 653 -
DE421 (JPL DE421)
ID: 752Planetary ephemerides
This dataset can be found at: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?ephemerides#planets
See all pages that use this dataset
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Related Pages
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ID: 5038 Visualization
The Sun's Path at Different Lunar Latitudes
Read moreThe path of the Sun in the lunar sky is shown at four latitudes, including the South Pole. An arrow points toward the Sun. Annotations include the subsolar longitude and the elapsed time in Earth days. || moon.0330_print.jpg (1024x576) [135.4 KB] || moon.0330_searchweb.png (320x180) [76.0 KB] || moon.0330_thm.png (80x40) [5.9 KB] || sun_paths_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [18.0 MB] || sun_paths_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [8.8 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/ (1920x1080) [64.0 KB] || sun_paths_720p30.webm (1280x720) [4.5 MB] || sun_paths_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [3.0 MB] ||
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ID: 5029 Visualization
Illumination at Schrödinger Basin
Read moreAn overhead view of Schrödinger basin showing both the inner peak ring and outer rim. The view is centered on 75°S 133°E with a vertical FOV of 5.8° from a distance of 2 Moon radii. || sp_illum.0002_print.jpg (1024x576) [245.3 KB] || sp_illum.0001_searchweb.png (320x180) [106.0 KB] || sp_illum.0001_thm.png (80x40) [7.1 KB] || schrodinger_2024_2025_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [105.2 MB] || schrodinger_2024_2025_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [58.6 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/outer/ (1920x1080) [256.0 KB] || schrodinger_2024_2025_720p30.webm (1280x720) [17.2 MB] || schrodinger_2024_2025_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [20.1 MB] ||
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ID: 5027 Visualization
Illumination at the Moon's South Pole to 80°S, 2025 to 2028
Read more2025: Sunlight and shadow within 10 degrees of the lunar South Pole, rendered at two-hour intervals for a year. || moon.2025_print.jpg (1024x576) [232.8 KB] || moon.2025_searchweb.png (320x180) [96.4 KB] || moon.2025_thm.png (80x40) [7.5 KB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [176.7 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [107.4 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/2025/ (1920x1080) [256.0 KB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_720p30.webm (1280x720) [17.6 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [37.1 MB] ||
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ID: 4893 Visualization
Shadows near the Moon's South Pole
Read moreThis video shows the movement of shadows near the Moon's South Pole, over the course of two lunar days, which is approximately two months on Earth. The visualization was created from data gathered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.Music Provided by Universal Production Music: “Two Horizons” – Anthony d’AmarioWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_Thumbnail1.jpg (1920x1080) [381.7 KB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_Thumbnail1_print.jpg (1024x576) [133.0 KB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_YouTubeHD.mp4 (1920x1080) [157.1 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_FacebookHD.mp4 (1920x1080) [118.7 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [1.3 GB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_YouTubeHD.webm (1920x1080) [10.8 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_CAPTIONS.en_US.srt [1.3 KB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_CAPTIONS.en_US.vtt [1.3 KB] ||
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ID: 4770 Visualization
From Apollo Sites To The South Pole
Read moreBeginning on the near side of the Moon, with the Apollo sites marked, the view quickly moves to the South Pole and zooms in to show the changing illumination conditions there for an entire year. || pole.0126_print.jpg (1024x576) [63.6 KB] || pole.0126_searchweb.png (320x180) [32.6 KB] || pole.0126_thm.png (80x40) [3.1 KB] || apollo_to_south_pole_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [86.6 MB] || apollo_to_south_pole_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [44.9 MB] || apollo_to_south_pole_720p30.webm (1280x720) [20.0 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/apollo/ (1920x1080) [256.0 KB] || apollo_to_south_pole_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [354.9 MB] || apollo_to_south_pole_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [16.2 MB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_30p/apollo/ (3840x2160) [256.0 KB] ||
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ID: 4043 Visualization
LRO Peers into Permanent Shadows
Read moreThe Moon's permanently shadowed regions, or PSRs, are places on the Moon that haven't seen the Sun in millions, or even billions, of years. The Earth's tilted axis allows sunlight to fall everywhere on its surface, even at the poles, for at least part of the year. But the Moon's tilt relative to the Sun is only 1.6°, not enough to get sunlight into some deep craters near the lunar north and south poles. PSRs are therefore some of the coldest, darkest places in the solar system.Because of that, PSRs are expected to be excellent traps for volatiles, chemicals that would normally vaporize and escape into space, and this includes water. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) includes several instruments designed to peer into the PSR darkness and measure temperature, reflectivity, and neutron absorption, all of which are clues to what chemicals might be hiding there. This animation shows where the PSRs are and in what ways LRO can see inside them. ||
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