The Picture of the Century: bird's eye view into the heart of Crater Copernicus, 24 November 1966

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, printed 1966, (NASA image LRC II-162H2, H3), 25,4 x 20,3 cm, a few light margin creases

For many people who had only seen an Earth-based telescopic view looking down into the crater Copernicus, this oblique view suddenly transformed that static lunar feature into a dramatic landscape with rolling mountains, sweeping palisades, and tumbling land-slides.
The crater Copernicus is about 60 miles in diameter, 2 miles deep, with 3000-foot cliffs. Peaks near the center of the crater form a mountain range about 10 miles long and 2000 feet high. Lunar Orbiter II recorded this "picture of the year" on November 28, 1966, from 28.4 miles above the surface when it was about 150 miles due south of the crater. (Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., chapter 5.5)

This historic photograph taken with the 610mm high resolution telephoto lens was hailed at the time as “The Picture of the Century.” The view left millions in awe when it was released.
The central peaks are in the middle of the image, rising as high as 1.2 km above the crater floor, and stretching for about 15 km. The northern wall of the crater is in the background.
Characteristics of the landscape are clearly shown by the shadows produced by the rising Sun, whose elevation was approximately 10 degrees above the horizon. Numerous mounds are visible on the floor of Copernicus, in addition to the central peaks.

Literature:
LIFE, 9 December 1966, pp. 50-51; TIME, 9 December 1966, pp. 50-51; Exploring Space with a Camera (NASA SP-168), Cortright, ed., pg. 89; Moon: Man’s Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., ppg. 134- 135; Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, ppg. 56-57; Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., chapter 5.5.