These images were taken in 2008 when the spacecraft was 50 million kilometers away. It's a loop of one day - one rotation of the Earth - and the Moon crosses right in front. This is called a transit (just like when Venus transited the Sun in June 2012). Since the Moon is 240,000 miles away from the Earth, Deep Impact had to be in exactly the right place to see this alignment. Although the pictures aren't crystal clear, you can make out the African continent in there. For more moons transiting planets in our solar system check out Emily Lakdawalla's Planetary Society blog: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2013/02221507-deep-impact-moon-transit.html
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