You can find the language-neutral modification of this image here: Image:Lunarparallax_22_3_1988_neutral.png

Summary

Example of lunar parallax from 4 points on earth

This is a simulated image, combining of 4 views of the sky and the moon's location relative to the background stars at a single point in time.

The bright stars visible are the star cluster Pleiades.

The date March 22, 1988 was chosen because the moon occulted stars within the pleides as visible from North America.

NOTE: This diagram is geometrically accurate, although not physically possible to see since the moon was not actually above the horizon in half the views. Specifically you can never see the Pleiades from the south pole! They were just picked as extreme views from the earth, the limit of what might be seen from a set of four locations in a square on a great circle and a moon just above the horizon in all four locations.

Credit: Tom Ruen, Full Sky Observatory

• This image was generated by my own solar system viewing software.
• Source bitmap for projection from Nasa's Clementine Spacecraft:
  • USGS: Global simple cylindrical projection at 10 km/pixel. (https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/Clementine/images/albedo.simp750.jpeg)

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tomruen. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tomruen grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Source

en:Image:Lunarparallax 22 3 1988.png

history on en: 02:12, 21 May 2004 . . en:user:Tomruen . . 554x508 (31311 bytes) (Example of lunar parallax from 4 points on earth)

Licensing

I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.