                        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.

                               2022 December 8

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

   Explanation: A camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft captured
   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 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, shadow
   line between lunar night and day, runs along the left of the 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. Of course the Orion spacecraft is now headed
   toward a December 11 splashdown in planet Earth's water-flooded Pacific
   Ocean.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

