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(music)

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We know how the Moon looks

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from here on Earth. But what does it look like from the other side?

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Well for one thing, we can also see the Earth.

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The spinning Earth looms large in this time-lapse telescopic view,

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made possible by computer graphics. We're looking along

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the imaginary line connecting the Earth and the Moon.

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From this vantage point, the Moon will be full soon, but on Earth,

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it's a waning crescent.

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The far side of the Moon has fewer of the smooth, dark spots,

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called maria, That cover the side that faces Earth. Instead,

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the far side is covered with craters of all sizes.

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In this second

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perspective, we're much closer to the Moon, using a wide-angle lens that

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makes the distant Earth seem smaller.

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(music)

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With our view fixed on the Moon,

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the rest of the solar system seems to dance and whirl around us.

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Before the Space Age, no one knew what was on the other side of the Moon.

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Since 2009, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

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has been making some of the most detailed global maps of the Moon's surface,

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making it much easier for everyone to see what it's like on the

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other side.

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(beeping)

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(beeping)

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(beeping)