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Here's What The Dark Side Of The Moon Looks Like

Here's What The Dark Side Of The Moon Looks Like

Here's What The Dark Side Of The Moon Looks Like
06 August 2015

There are some very odd conspiracy theories about what's lurking on the dark side of the Moon.

Some think there's a Nazi base, populated during World War II, while others think it hosts an alien civilization plotting our imminent doom.

In reality, it's just a lot of dust. Pretty, pretty dust. 

NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite orbits the Earth at a staggering distance of 1 million miles. From this position it can monitor solar winds and provide a constant picture of the illuminated half of the Earth's surface. That position also means that it can use its four megapixel camera to take incredible photos of our watery planet, and our beautiful Moon.

These images, captured on 16 July, can hopefully deflate any of the more outlandish conspiracy theories doing the rounds. 

"It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon," said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist. "Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface."

But what about that green line! - that's just a visual trick of combining three separate monochrome exposures taken by the camera in quick succession. Sorry.

If you want to get excited about aliens, best have a look at this weird crab they might have found on Mars.