Lunar surface explorer
Read the Moon's surface
A curated, phase-independent map of the near side. Zoom, pan and select named features — then use the phase note to plan when the shadows will be strongest.
Orientation
North is up and east is to the right in this NASA LRO near-side projection.
Best phase
Craters look sharpest near the terminator. The full Moon favours bright ray systems.
Real surface
A public-domain NASA LRO near-side mosaic. Markers and graticule are overlays, not surface features.
Tycho · Crater · details below
Drag to pan · North up · East right
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Selected feature
Tycho
Crater43.31°S · 11.36°W · 85 km
A young, sharply defined crater in the southern highlands. Its bright ejecta rays stretch across the near side and are most obvious under a high Sun.
Best phase
Full Moon for rays; first quarter for crater relief
IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature
About this map. The surface is an orthographic NASA LRO near-side mosaic of the Earth-facing hemisphere. It is phase-independent and not a current lunar image. Feature coordinates use selenographic latitude and longitude; the IAU convention puts east on the right as seen from Earth. Apollo hardware is far below the resolution of any Earth-based view, so landing sites are location markers, not visible objects. The graticule and markers are overlays.
Surface: NASA / LRO / Arizona State University, public domain. Feature coordinates: IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature and NASA Apollo mission documentation. LROC · IAU nomenclature.
Canonical URL: https://moonscan.com/explore