Japan's Kaguya lunar satellite, launched early last month, has started taking HDTV video of the moon's surface. As you can see above, even the still shots from the video are incredibly clear. A clip of the video itself is posted on JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Web site, unfortunately not in sparkling high-definition form, but it's still worth watching.
This first image above was taken during a flight from the Oceanus Procellarum (a dark spot on the moon's top left, as we look at it from Earth), to the lunar north pole. A few more are below the fold.
Above: This image is the western border of the Oceanus Procellarum, as the satellite traveled north. The dark spot is the "Ocean," while the brighter spot to the left are called "highland."
Above: More from the Oceanus Procellarum, depicting a 66-mile-wide crater called "Repsold," and the 112-mile channel crossing it.
World’s First Image Taking of the Moon by HDTV [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency]
(Images Credit: JAXA/NHK)
