august: earth and moon from mars

This Month there is considerable interest in Mars, which is at its closest to Earth since Neolithic times. Expect any number of beautiful photographs of the red planet to be published over the coming weeks.

Seen from another angle, the close approach also affords unprecedented opportunities for observation of the Earth/Moon system from Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor satellite presently orbiting Mars recently trained its cameras on the home planet and obtained this image. Although little detail can be made out on the lunar surface, through the Earth's cloud cover it is possible to see the Pacific Ocean and parts of North and South America.

Image: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.