Examples of Lunar Libration
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View Large Animation Without Grid (~900 KB) View Large Animation With Grid (~900 KB) View Small Animation Without Grid (~300 KB) View Small Animation With Grid (~300 KB) Animation Sheet Sample for Java/Gif Animations (JPG ~700 KB) |
About
The rendered images of the Moon compiled to create these animations are based on one Lunation between the two New Moons of October-November 2004. Each frame of the animation is the phase at 00:00:00 UTC. The Green compass references geographic direction while the Gray compass references Selenographic direction. On the version with the grid, a Red dot is located at 0° Longitude and 0° Latitude (Selenographic) so it's easier to see the movement during one Lunation.
The GIF animations and Java Applet linked above were created by Don Carona and are based on the Java code as described in the Planet Rendering section. The equirectangular chart of the lunar surface used to created the renders was created by and used courtesy of the USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
You may download and use any of the animations, the animation sheet sample, or any frame derived from these animations or animation sheet sample without permission provided they are used soley for educational purposes and not used in any presentation, publication, web site or software for which a fee is charged. I would appreciate a simple citation such as:
Libration Animation Created By and Courtesy of Don Carona, Texas A&M Astronomical Observatory
These animations or any frame deriving from these animations may not be used on a web site that is not directly attributed to an educational institution or government institution i.e.(*.edu, *.gov, *.mil, etc.) without the expressed, written permission of the author.