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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2026 April 8
   NASA alt text: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at
   6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew s flyby of the
      Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the
      cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing
    nighttime. On Earth s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the
       Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has
    terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central
     peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on
           impact, splashes upwards during the crater s formation.

                                  Earthset
                             Image Credit: NASA
         Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

   Explanation: "And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth,
   we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side," said
   Artemis II pilot Victor Glover on April 6^th at 6:44pm ET as 8.3
   billion minus four people and one Earth set below the Moon's horizon.
   The Orion spacecraft, Integrity, then traveled behind the Moon as part
   of its seven-hour lunar flyby. The crew characterized never-before-seen
   regions of the far side of the Moon, which is puzzlingly less
   volcanically active than the near side. New observations of crater
   peaks, floors, terraces, and rings preserved on the lunar surface will
   help piece together the impact history of the Solar System. Among many
   other surface characterizations, the crew observed one of the Moon's
   best-preserved basins, the Orientale basin, and identified two new
   craters. As Earth rose above the Moon s horizon and Integrity began its
   return home, Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch powerfully
   summarized humanity s grander mission: "...we will always choose Earth.
   We will always choose each other."

                  Tomorrow's picture: the death of a comet
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

