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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Orion and the Ocean of Storms
APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 8 Dec, 2022 | Image Credit: NASA, Artemis 1

Posted on 12/08/2022 11:49:52 AM PST by MtnClimber

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.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 12/08/2022 11:49:52 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 12/08/2022 11:50:08 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; America_Right; AZ .44 MAG; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

๐Ÿช ๐ŸŒŸ ๐ŸŒŒ ๐Ÿ”


3 posted on 12/08/2022 11:50:44 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

That is a pretty cool picture!


4 posted on 12/08/2022 12:16:03 PM PST by telescope115 (Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
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To: MtnClimber; All

Luna has taken a lot of direct hits, hasn’t she? ;)


5 posted on 12/08/2022 12:23:01 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: MtnClimber

Artimus, the woke program from NASA. First woman and first person of color to walk on the moon! LGBTQ+ friendly! Apollo part duex. And it really doesn’t have a mission except equity. On the other hand, what spaceEx is doing is innovative and fascinating. Anymore I’m completely unimpressed with what this government sh$ts.


6 posted on 12/08/2022 12:38:56 PM PST by NavyShoe
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To: MtnClimber

Right in the middle is The Bowling Ball Craters.


7 posted on 12/08/2022 2:22:27 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancerโ€ )
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To: MtnClimber

great shot!... I had to look twice to see if it was indeed an APOD link!!


8 posted on 12/08/2022 2:24:53 PM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: MtnClimber

zoomed in, those craters are deep!! it’s not the typical bowl that starts at the rim. there are complete verticle sides to those holes before the dished bottom starts!!


9 posted on 12/08/2022 2:29:07 PM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: MtnClimber

” Earth’s water-flooded Pacific Ocean.”

The Pacific ocean is water flooded??

When did that happen?


10 posted on 12/08/2022 2:29:52 PM PST by doorgunner69 (Let's go Brandon)
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To: doorgunner69
The Pacific ocean is water flooded??

When did that happen?

I don't know but it has been that way for quite some time. I remember going to the beach in California as a kid and the Pacific Ocean was full of water then.

11 posted on 12/08/2022 2:48:28 PM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: MtnClimber
Someday, God willing, there'll be cities down there, lights blinking and shining in the dark craters, acres of landing strips, manufacturers and mines, and other human activity.

I'll be long dead, but that's how I hope it will be.


12 posted on 12/08/2022 3:57:41 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Gov't declaring misinformation is tyranny: โ€œWho determines what false information is?โ€ )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Luna has taken a lot of direct hits, hasnโ€™t she? ;)

Indeed.

We're bigger, we're at the bottom of a deeper gravity well, so...

13 posted on 12/08/2022 4:30:08 PM PST by null and void (The FBI, et al. have been quite busy digging themselves into a very deep hole. It's time we fill it!)
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To: null and void

They can take all the pretty pictures that they want.

Scientists? I’m STILL waiting for the flying car that was predicted back in 1960! ;)


14 posted on 12/09/2022 6:57:56 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: MtnClimber
I didn't see a live thread for the splashdown, but it was great.

As Orion's camera filled the screen with its three drogue parachutes overhead, the peppermint candy delivery was unmistakable.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go."

15 posted on 12/11/2022 10:09:30 AM PST by Ezekiel (๐Ÿ†˜๏ธ "Come fly with US". Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with Mars โ™‚๏ธ, aka every man)
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