{
"id": 5038,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5038/",
"page_type": "Visualization",
"title": "The Sun's Path at Different Lunar Latitudes",
"description": "The 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] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || sun_paths_720p30.webm (1280x720) [4.5 MB] || sun_paths_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [3.0 MB] || sun_paths_1080p30.mp4.hwshow [183 bytes] || ",
"release_date": "2022-10-05T16:15:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2025-01-06T00:27:45.765575-05:00",
"main_image": {
"id": 368987,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/moon.0330_print.jpg",
"filename": "moon.0330_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1024,
"height": 576,
"pixels": 589824
},
"main_video": null,
"main_credits": {
"Visualizations by": [
{
"name": "Ernie Wright",
"employer": "USRA"
}
]
},
"progress": "Complete",
"media_groups": [
{
"id": 313819,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5038/#media_group_313819",
"widget": "Video player",
"title": "",
"caption": "",
"description": "The 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.",
"items": [
{
"id": 210183,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368987,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/moon.0330_print.jpg",
"filename": "moon.0330_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1024,
"height": 576,
"pixels": 589824
}
},
{
"id": 210184,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368988,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/moon.0330_searchweb.png",
"filename": "moon.0330_searchweb.png",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 320,
"height": 180,
"pixels": 57600
}
},
{
"id": 210185,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368989,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/moon.0330_thm.png",
"filename": "moon.0330_thm.png",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 80,
"height": 40,
"pixels": 3200
}
},
{
"id": 210179,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368990,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/sun_paths_1080p30.mp4",
"filename": "sun_paths_1080p30.mp4",
"media_type": "Movie",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080,
"pixels": 2073600
}
},
{
"id": 210180,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368991,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/sun_paths_720p30.mp4",
"filename": "sun_paths_720p30.mp4",
"media_type": "Movie",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1280,
"height": 720,
"pixels": 921600
}
},
{
"id": 210182,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368986,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/",
"filename": "1920x1080_16x9_30p",
"media_type": "Frames",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080,
"pixels": 2073600
}
},
{
"id": 210186,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368993,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/sun_paths_720p30.webm",
"filename": "sun_paths_720p30.webm",
"media_type": "Movie",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 1280,
"height": 720,
"pixels": 921600
}
},
{
"id": 210181,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 368992,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/sun_paths_360p30.mp4",
"filename": "sun_paths_360p30.mp4",
"media_type": "Movie",
"alt_text": "The 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.",
"width": 640,
"height": 360,
"pixels": 230400
}
},
{
"id": 437525,
"type": "media",
"extra_data": null,
"title": null,
"caption": null,
"instance": {
"id": 1099279,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005038/sun_paths_1080p30.mp4.hwshow",
"filename": "sun_paths_1080p30.mp4.hwshow",
"media_type": "HyperwallShow",
"alt_text": "",
"width": 0,
"height": 0,
"pixels": null
}
}
],
"extra_data": {}
},
{
"id": 313818,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5038/#media_group_313818",
"widget": "Basic text with HTML",
"title": "",
"caption": "",
"description": "On both the Earth and the Moon, the apparent path of the Sun in the sky during the day depends on the observer's latitude. At most latitudes, the Sun rises above the eastern horizon in the morning, arcs through the sky toward a peak altitude at local noon, then sinks below the western horizon in the evening, the only difference being the steepness of the arc. The Sun's apparent motion at the poles is markedly different, particularly on the Moon, which is tilted only 1.5° relative to the Sun.
This visualization compares Sun views from four latitudes on the Moon over the course of a lunar day. The two views in the upper half of the frame are from Apollo landing sites. The lower left shows a latitude much higher than any Apollo landing, while the lower right is the view from the South Pole, where rather than rising and setting, the Sun travels in a complete circle, skimming low over the horizon. The yellow arrow points toward the Sun, locating it even when it's hidden below the horizon or outside the image frame. The sidebar shows the direction of the Sun's rays in a view from Earth, as well as the elapsed time in Earth days.",
"items": [],
"extra_data": {}
}
],
"studio": "svs",
"funding_sources": [
"LRO"
],
"credits": [
{
"role": "Visualizer",
"people": [
{
"name": "Ernie Wright",
"employer": "USRA"
}
]
},
{
"role": "Scientist",
"people": [
{
"name": "Jacob Bleacher",
"employer": "NASA/GSFC"
}
]
},
{
"role": "Technical support",
"people": [
{
"name": "Laurence Schuler",
"employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc."
},
{
"name": "Ian Jones",
"employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc."
}
]
}
],
"missions": [
"Artemis Program (Human Spaceflight — Moon to Mars) (Artemis)"
],
"series": [
"The Moon"
],
"tapes": [],
"papers": [],
"datasets": [
{
"name": "Digital Elevation Map",
"common_name": "DEM",
"platform": "LRO",
"sensor": "LOLA",
"type": "Other",
"organizations": [],
"description": "",
"credit": "",
"url": "",
"date_range": null
},
{
"name": "JPL DE421",
"common_name": "DE421",
"platform": null,
"sensor": null,
"type": "Ephemeris",
"organizations": [
"NASA/JPL"
],
"description": "Planetary ephemerides",
"credit": "",
"url": "http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?ephemerides#planets",
"date_range": null
},
{
"name": "DIgital Elevation Model",
"common_name": "SLDEM2015",
"platform": "LRO/SELENE",
"sensor": "LOLA/TC",
"type": "Model",
"organizations": [],
"description": "A digital elevation model of the Moon derived from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the SELENE Terrain Camera. See the description in Icarus. The data is here.",
"credit": "",
"url": "",
"date_range": null
},
{
"name": "Natural Color Hapke Normalized WAC Mosaic",
"common_name": "LROC WAC Color Mosaic",
"platform": "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter",
"sensor": "LRO Camera",
"type": "Mosaic",
"organizations": [
"Arizona State University"
],
"description": "This natural-color global mosaic is based on the 'Hapke normalized' mosaic from LRO's wide-angle camera. The data has been gamma corrected, white balanced, and range adjusted to more closely match human vision.",
"credit": "",
"url": "",
"date_range": null
}
],
"nasa_science_categories": [
"Planets & Moons"
],
"keywords": [
"Artemis",
"HDTV",
"Hyperwall",
"LRO",
"Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter",
"Moon",
"South Pole",
"Sun-Earth-Moon Interactions"
],
"recommended_pages": [],
"related": [
{
"id": 5027,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5027/",
"page_type": "Visualization",
"title": "Illumination at the Moon's South Pole to 80°S, 2025 to 2028",
"description": "2025: 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] || 2025 (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_720p30.webm (1280x720) [17.6 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [176.7 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [107.4 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [37.1 MB] || sp_illum_10deg_2025_1080p30.mp4.hwshow || ",
"release_date": "2022-10-05T16:05:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2025-02-18T00:12:07.382326-05:00",
"main_image": {
"id": 369317,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005000/a005027/moon.2025_print.jpg",
"filename": "moon.2025_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "2025: Sunlight and shadow within 10 degrees of the lunar South Pole, rendered at two-hour intervals for a year.",
"width": 1024,
"height": 576,
"pixels": 589824
}
},
{
"id": 4930,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4930/",
"page_type": "Visualization",
"title": "Illumination at the Moon's South Pole, 2023 to 2030",
"description": "2023: Sunlight and shadow within 2 degrees of the lunar South Pole, rendered at two-hour intervals for a year. || sp_illum_2023_print.jpg (1024x576) [103.9 KB] || sp_illum.0001_searchweb.png (320x180) [55.6 KB] || sp_illum.0001_thm.png (80x40) [5.3 KB] || sp_illum_2deg_2023_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [71.3 MB] || sp_illum_2deg_2023_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [40.9 MB] || 2023 (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || sp_illum_2deg_2023_720p30.webm (1280x720) [17.4 MB] || sp_illum_2deg_2023_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [17.2 MB] || sp_illum_2deg_2023_1080p30.mp4.hwshow || ",
"release_date": "2022-10-05T16:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2025-02-18T00:11:24.511084-05:00",
"main_image": {
"id": 377396,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004900/a004930/sp_illum_2023_print.jpg",
"filename": "sp_illum_2023_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "2023: Sunlight and shadow within 2 degrees of the lunar South Pole, rendered at two-hour intervals for a year.",
"width": 1024,
"height": 576,
"pixels": 589824
}
},
{
"id": 4893,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4893/",
"page_type": "Visualization",
"title": "Shadows near the Moon's South Pole",
"description": "This 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.webm (1920x1080) [10.8 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_YouTubeHD.mp4 (1920x1080) [157.1 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_FacebookHD.mp4 (1920x1080) [118.7 MB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_CAPTIONS.en_US.srt [1.3 KB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_CAPTIONS.en_US.vtt [1.3 KB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [1.3 GB] || ShadowsMoonSouthPole_FacebookHD.mp4.hwshow || ",
"release_date": "2021-04-01T10:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2021-04-01T14:52:10-04:00",
"main_image": {
"id": 379370,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004800/a004893/moon.1500_print.jpg",
"filename": "moon.1500_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "Visualization only (No audio, no icons)",
"width": 1024,
"height": 576,
"pixels": 589824
}
}
],
"sources": [],
"products": [],
"newer_versions": [],
"older_versions": [],
"alternate_versions": []
}