This detailed view of the Moon’s southern polar region reveals a rugged landscape shaped by billions of years of impacts and extreme illumination conditions. Prominent features along the limb include the massive craters Clavius, Moretus, and Short, with smaller formations such as Curtius and Gruenberger scattered across the heavily cratered highlands. The oblique perspective emphasizes relief, with long shadows accentuating crater rims, terraces, and ejecta patterns near the terminator.

Near the lunar limb, the South Pole itself lies close to Shackleton crater, a feature of particular scientific interest due to its permanently shadowed interior. These regions receive little to no direct sunlight, allowing volatile compounds like water ice to remain stable over geological timescales. Favorable libration makes it possible to observe this normally hidden terrain from Earth, offering insight into surface morphology, lighting geometry, and why the lunar south pole is a key target for future robotic and human exploration.

The phases of Venus are the variations of lighting seen on the planet's surface, similar to lunar phases. The first recorded observations of them are thought to have been telescopic observations by Galileo Galilei in 1610.