Moon Phase and Libration

Every year since 2011, the SVS produces its annual visualization of the Moon's phase and libration comprising 8760 hourly renderings of the precise size, orientation, and illumination of our nearest neighbor in space. The above displays the current state of the Moon. Click on the image to download a much larger version with labeled craters and additional graphics. Follow the links below to see the Moon at any hour of the year, play the animations, access the frames at multiple resolutions, and read detailed explanations.