                        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.

                              2025 December 13

                        Orion and the Ocean of Storms
                        Image Credit: NASA, Artemis 1

   Explanation: On December 5, 2022, a camera on board the uncrewed Orion
   spacecraft captured this view as Orion approached its return powered
   flyby of the Moon. Beyond one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies
   dark, smooth, terrain along the western edge of the Oceanus
   Procellarum. Prominent on the lunar nearside Oceanus Procellarum, the
   Ocean of Storms, is the largest of the Moon's lava-flooded maria. The
   lunar terminator, the shadow line between lunar night and day, runs
   along the left of this frame. The 41 kilometer diameter crater Marius
   is top center, with ray 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 dark-floored Marius. By December 11, 2022 the
   Orion spacecraft had returned to its home world. The historic Artemis 1
   mission ended with Orion's successful splashdown in planet Earth's
   water-flooded Pacific Ocean.

                      Watch: The Geminid Meteor Shower
               Tomorrow's picture: flyby Ganymede and Jupiter
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

