APOD: 2022 February 15 - Terminator Moon

Good afternoon, Rallypoint, and welcome to the February 15th Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Terminator Moon." In honor of the February Snow Moon (appearing full starting tonight through Thursday night), this composite image of our Moon appears almost three-dimensional. Why? It's all in the terminators (not Arnold). A terminator is the line that divides the light of day from the dark of night on a celestial body. In those regions, shadows become much more distinct and defined. A total of 29 lunar terminators were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and were used to produce today's APOD. So are the different lunar maria (the "Seas") really this dark? No..they are just flatter (e.g. no shadows).