Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 March 14 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Moon Pi and Mountain Shadow Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Daniel Lopez ([4]El Cielo de Canarias) Explanation: [5]What phase of the Moon is 3.14 radians from the Sun? The Full Moon, of course. Even though the [6]Moon might look full for several days, the Moon is truly at its full phase when it is [7]Pi radians (aka 180 degrees) from the Sun in [8]ecliptic longitude. That's opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. Rising as the Sun set on March 9, 2020, only an hour or so after the moment of its full phase, this orange tinted and [9]slightly flattened Moon still looked full. It was photographed opposite the setting Sun from Teide National Park on the Canary Island of Tenerife. Also opposite the setting Sun, seen from near the Teide volcano peak about 3,500 meters above sea level, is the mountain's rising [10]triangular shadow extending into Earth's dense atmosphere. Below the distant ridge line on the left are the white telescope domes of [11]Teide Observatory. Today, March 14 2025, the moon is Pi radians from the Sun at exactly 06:55 UTC. That's about three minutes before the midpoint of the March Full Moon's [12]total lunar eclipse. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC, [33]NASA Science Activation & [34]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2503/MoonriseShadowDLopez_1.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. http://www.elcielodecanarias.com/ 5. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/collection/pi-day-activities-for-the-classroom/ 6. https://earthsky.org/moon-phases/full-moon 7. https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/radians.html 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic_coordinate_system 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161118.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161021.html 11. https://www.iac.es/en/observatorios-de-canarias/teide-observatory 12. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/total-lunar-eclipse-march-13-14-2025/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250313.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250314 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250315.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 34. http://www.mtu.edu/