Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 December 8 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Orion and the Ocean of Storms Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]Artemis 1 Explanation: A camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft captured [5]this view on December 5 as Orion approached its return powered flyby of the Moon. Below one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies dark, smooth, terrain along the [6]western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. Prominent on the lunar nearside [7]Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of the [8]Moon's lava-flooded maria. The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day, runs along the left of the frame. The 41 kilometer diameter [9]crater Marius is top center, with ray [10]crater Kepler peeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing. Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching the [11]dark-floored Marius. [12]Of course the Orion spacecraft is now headed toward a [13]December 11 splashdown in [14]planet Earth's water-flooded Pacific Ocean. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space __________________________________________________________________ [15]< | [16]Archive | [17]Submissions | [18]Index | [19]Search | [20]Calendar | [21]RSS | [22]Education | [23]About APOD | [24]Discuss | [25]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell ([29]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply. [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC, [35]NASA Science Activation & [36]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/art001e002132.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1 5. https://flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/52547306790/in/album-72177720303788800/ 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220128.html 7. https://earthsky.org/space/new-ideas-about-origin-of-lunar-ocean-of-storms/ 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_mare 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_(crater) 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_(lunar_crater) 11. https://science.nasa.gov/marius-hills-and-hole-moon 12. https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/ 13. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-of-orion-s-historic-moon-mission-return-splashdown 14. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/apollo-17-astronauts-capture-iconic-blue-marble-50-years-ago 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221207.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221208 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221209.html 26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 36. http://www.mtu.edu/