Lunar terminator

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The Lunar terminator is the division between the illuminated and dark parts of the moon ^[1]. 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.

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 the Earth when the sun is low in the sky.