Earthlight is a feature on Earth's

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, a crater in the

Hadley–Apennine Hadley–Apennine is a region on the Near side of the Moon, near side of Moon, Earth's Moon that served as the landing site for the United States, American Apollo 15 mission, the fourth crewed landing on the Moon and the first of the "List of Apol ...

region. Astronauts

David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the List of Apollo astronauts#People who have walked on the Moon, seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the NASA Astronaut ...

and

James Irwin James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force Aviator, pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landin ...

drove past it on their

Lunar Roving Vehicle The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered four-wheeled Rover (space exploration), rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program (Apollo 15, 15, Apollo 16, 16, and Apollo 17 ...

in 1971, on the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

mission, during EVA 2. Earthlight is located about 1.5 km east of Hadley Rille, less than 1 km north of the larger

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

crater, and about 2 km south of the Apollo 15 landing site itself, at

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

crater. The crater is subdued and not obvious on the surface, and the astronauts did not stop to observe it. During the drive towards Mons Hadley Delta, Jim Irwin said, "I can just barely see the western slope of Earthlight. But the southern slope of it, I can also see, has several blocks on it." The crater was named by the astronauts after the 1955 novel by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

(which takes place in and around

Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains") is a vast lunar mare, lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision ...

on the Moon), and the name was formally adopted by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 1973. Clarke was delighted to receive a three-dimensional map of the landing site signed and sent by the Apollo 15 crew, two decades after the novel was written.Foreword to ''The Space Trilogy'' (including ''

The Sands of Mars ''The Sands of Mars'' (also titled ''Sands of Mars'') is a science fiction novel by English writer Arthur C. Clarke. While he was already popular as a short story writer and as a magazine contributor, ''The Sands of Mars'' was also a prelude ...

'', ''

Earthlight ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a scie ...

'', and ''

Islands in the Sky ''Islands in the Sky'' is a 1952 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. It is one of his earliest works. Clarke wrote the story as a travelogue of human settlement of cislunar space in the last half of the twenty-first ...

'') by Arthur C. Clarke, 2001.

References

{{reflist

External links

Apollo 15 Traverses
Lunar Photomap 41B4S4(25) Impact craters on the Moon