Dark Side of the Moon Flashes by Earth as Its Captured by Satellite (VIDEO)

First Posted: Aug 06, 2015 06:51 AM EDT

NASA's satellite has captured spectacular new images of the dark side of the moon. The Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite spotted the moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month.

EPIC maintains a constant view of the fully illuminated Earth as it rotates, providing scientific observations of ozone, vegetation, cloud height and aerosols in the atmosphere. Once EPIC begins regular observations next month, the camera will provide a series of Earth images allowing study of daily variations over the entire globe. About twice a year the camera will capture the moon and Earth together as the orbit of DSCOVR crosses the orbital plane of the moon.

These latest series of images were taken on July 16, and show the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America. The North Pole is in the upper left corner of the image.

What makes this series of images so interesting is that it reveals the far side of the moon. Because the same side of the moon always faces an earthbound observer, it's difficult to study the moon's far side.

"It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon," said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist, in a news release. "Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface."

Once EPIC begins regular observations, NASA will post daily color images of Earth to a dedicated public website. These images will be available just 12 to 36 hours after they're required.

For more information about DSCOVR, visit NASA's website.