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Lot 120
[Lunar Orbiter II] WIDE-ANGLE VIEW OF THE 'PICTURE OF THE CENTURY': lunar horizon over Crater Copernicus (Large Format) NASA, 24 November 1966
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €704 inc. premium
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[Lunar Orbiter II] WIDE-ANGLE VIEW OF THE 'PICTURE OF THE CENTURY': lunar horizon over Crater Copernicus (Large Format)
NASA, 24 November 1966
Printed 1966.
Large format vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image LRC II-162M].
Blank on the reverse (issued by NASA Langley Research Centre, Hampton, Virginia).
51 x 61 cm. (20 x 24 in.)
Historical context
A very rare large format of the medium resolution version (Lunar Orbiter frame II-162M) of the "Picture of the Century." This photograph captures the dramatic Crater Copernicus on the lunar horizon, taken with the 80mm lens. The striking clarity of the image is due to the Moon's lack of atmosphere. Comparable photographs from Earth would never achieve this sharpness due to atmospheric haze.
The Lunar Orbiter used two cameras: one with a 3-inch focal length and another with a 24-inch focal length. These cameras were boresighted, ensuring that every high-resolution image was encompassed within a medium-resolution frame. The system employed a combination of conventional film photography and an innovative Bimat chemical development process, paired with electronic scanning readout. This allowed the images to be transmitted to Earth bit by bit over radio.
Printed 1966.
Large format vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image LRC II-162M].
Blank on the reverse (issued by NASA Langley Research Centre, Hampton, Virginia).
51 x 61 cm. (20 x 24 in.)
Historical context
A very rare large format of the medium resolution version (Lunar Orbiter frame II-162M) of the "Picture of the Century." This photograph captures the dramatic Crater Copernicus on the lunar horizon, taken with the 80mm lens. The striking clarity of the image is due to the Moon's lack of atmosphere. Comparable photographs from Earth would never achieve this sharpness due to atmospheric haze.
The Lunar Orbiter used two cameras: one with a 3-inch focal length and another with a 24-inch focal length. These cameras were boresighted, ensuring that every high-resolution image was encompassed within a medium-resolution frame. The system employed a combination of conventional film photography and an innovative Bimat chemical development process, paired with electronic scanning readout. This allowed the images to be transmitted to Earth bit by bit over radio.
Footnotes
Lunar Orbiter II recorded this superb image at 7:05 p.m. EST on November 24, 1966, from an altitude of 28.4 miles above the Moon's surface and approximately 150 miles south of Copernicus. Coordinates: Latitude 5.48° N, Longitude 20.00° W.
Copernicus, approximately 60 miles in diameter and 2 miles deep, features 3,000-foot cliffs, apparent landslide scarps, and central peaks forming a mountain range about 1,500–2,000 feet high and 10 miles long.
"The Lunar Orbiter photography was accomplished with relatively conventional film cameras, which provided a very effective method of storing information for transmission at a modest rate."
Oran Nicks, NASA Office of Space Science and Applications (Cortright, p. 88).
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Assignment, Shoot the Moon (1967)
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