Unique footage taken from the moon give a heavenly view of earth dipping below the horizon.

The 'Earthset' was filmed by a high definition television camera from a lunar probe.

The images, the first of their kind, were recently unveiled by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

They were taken a distance of 236,121 miles from the earth.

The lunar explorer consists of a main orbiter and two baby satellites equipped with instruments designed to examine surface terrain, gravity and other features for clues on the origin and evolution of the moon.

Its official name is Serene, but it has been nicknamed Kaguya after a moon princess in an ancient Japanese fairytale.

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.