Overview
Using the Moon Simulator
The simulator appears at the top right of the map whenever the Moon is above 5 degrees below the horizon:
You can either minimize it (button, top left above):
Or you can expand it to a full screen view:
Note: if the Moon is not selected in settings, or if you have chosen to hide the Moon and eclipse simulators, it will not appear at all.
Key Features
The Moon simulator supports the following features:
- Real-time rendering of the Moon with accurate phase, libration, and position
- Lunar feature labels (mare, craters) with level-of-detail filtering based on zoom
- Camera controls with azimuth/altitude gauges and double-click reset
- Playback controls for time animation with multiple speed options
- Display options toolbar (sky gradient, labels, shadow rings, horizon)
- Lunar eclipse Earth shadow visualization with umbra/penumbra cones
- Lunar eclipse contact time buttons (P1, U1, U2, Max, U3, U4, P4)
- Below horizon indicator when Moon is not visible
- Camera direction overlay showing azimuth and altitude
- Day navigation controls for quick date changes
- Lunar distance and libration data display
- Mini 3D Moon preview in simulator popup on map
- Date-based access restrictions for subscription tiers (Free: 1 day lookahead, Supporter: 5 days, PRO: unrestricted)
- Solar eclipse redirect message when viewing during a solar eclipse
Playback Controls
The state of the Moon reflects the selected date and time and the primary pin position on the map: everything is calculated from those key inputs.
If you adjust the time of day using the timeline slider, you’ll see the appearance of Moon change. If you move the pin position on the Map, you won’t affect things like the illuminated fraction of the Moon, but the orientation with respect to the observer will change (due to the parallactic angle).
In addition, you can use the playback controls at the lower left of the full simulator screen to play/pause the evolving state of the Moon over time. Choose from one of the available playback speeds (×60, ×300, ×900, corresponding to one second equals one minute, five minutes, or 30 minutes respectively).
You can skip forward or back five minutes at a time using the arrow buttons either side of the time display, or one day back or forward using the buttons either side of the date.
Changing the View
You can control the Moon display:
- Use a mouse wheel or trackpad two-finger zoom, or a pinch gestures to zoom in or out
- Click/tap and drag to pan the moon around the display (this can be useful at high zoom levels to bring different areas of the lunar limb into view)
- Double-click/tap anywhere to reset the camera to a default zoom, centered view
Lunar Information
The playback control panel includes additional information about the current state of the Moon. What is displayed varies based on the selected display mode and circumstances.
Credits
- 3D model textures: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio