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(Freely adapted from Wikipedia)

 

The Lunar terminator is the division between the illuminated and dark parts of the Earth's Moon. It is the lunar equivalent of the division between night and day on the Earth's sphere, although the Moon's much lower rate of rotation means it takes longer for it to pass across the surface.  

(Here's a mosaic of pictures that goes from Rimae Ariadaeus, down in the image, up to the crater Maurolycus, approximately one third of the apparent diameter of the visible side of the moon).   

Due to the angle at which sunlight strikes this portion of the moon, shadows cast by craters and other geological features are elongated, thereby making such features more apparent to the observer. This phenomenon is similar to the lengthening of shadows on Earth when the sun is low in the sky.

For this reason, much lunar photographic study centers on the illuminated area near the lunar terminator, and the resulting shadows provide accurate descriptions of the terrain.

 

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