2026 February 12

The Bay of Rainbows
* Image Credit & Copyright: Olaf Filzinger
https://www.sternwarte-hofheim.de/galerie/filzinger/index.html

Explanation:
Dark, smooth regions that cover the Moon's familiar face are called by Latin names for oceans and seas. That naming convention is historical, though it may seem a little ironic to denizens of the space age who recognize the Moon as a mostly dry and airless world, and the smooth, dark areas as lava-flooded impact basins. For example, this telescopic lunar vista, looks over the expanse of the northwestern Mare Imbrium, or Sea of Rains and into the Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows. Ringed by the Jura Mountains (montes), the bay is about 250 kilometers across. Seen after local sunrise, the mountains form part of the Sinus Iridum impact crater wall. Their rugged sunlit arc is bounded at the top by Cape (promontorium) Laplace reaching nearly 3,000 meters above the bay's surface. At the bottom of the arc is Cape Heraclides, depicted by Giovanni Cassini in his 1679 telescope-based drawings mapping the moon as a moon maiden seen in profile with long, flowing hair.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250720.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_mare
https://www.lindahall.org/experience/digital-exhibitions/mapping-the-moon/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220410.html
https://science.nasa.gov/moon/lunar-volcanism/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_Iridum
https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4011
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030619.html
https://www.astronomy.com/observing/sinus-iridum-stirs-the-imagination/
https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/374468-moon-maiden/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260212.html

#space #moon #apollo17 #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod

2026 January 17

Apollo 14: A View from Antares
* Image Credit: Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14, NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-14/
https://www.nasa.gov/
+ Mosaic - Eric M. Jones
https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/

Explanation:
Apollo 14's Lunar Module Antares landed on the Moon on February 5, 1971. Toward the end of the stay astronaut Ed Mitchell snapped a series of photos of the lunar surface while looking out a window, assembled into this detailed mosaic by Apollo Lunar Surface Journal editor Eric Jones. The view looks across the Fra Mauro highlands to the northwest of the landing site after the Apollo 14 astronauts had completed their second and final walk on the Moon. Prominent in the foreground is their Modular Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled, rickshaw-like device used to carry tools and samples. Near the horizon at top center is a 1.5 meter wide boulder dubbed Turtle rock. In the shallow crater below Turtle rock is the long white handle of a sampling instrument, thrown there javelin-style by Mitchell. Mitchell's fellow moonwalker and first American in space, Alan Shepard, also used a makeshift six iron to hit two golf balls. One of Shepard's golf balls is just visible as a white spot below Mitchell's javelin.
https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-apollo-14-lands-at-fra-mauro/

#space #moon #apollo17 #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod

2026 January 15

Plato and the Lunar Alps
* Image Credit & Copyright: Luigi Morrone
https://app.astrobin.com/u/Luigi_morrone_1979#gallery

Explanation:
The dark-floored, 95 kilometer wide crater Plato and sunlit peaks of the lunar Alps (Montes Alpes) are highlighted in this this sharp telescopic snapshot of the Moon's surface. While the Alps of planet Earth were uplifted over millions of years as continental plates slowly collided, the lunar Alps were likely formed by a sudden collision that created the giant impact basin known as the Mare Imbrium or Sea of Rains. The mare's generally smooth, lava-flooded floor is seen below the bordering mountain range. The prominent straight feature cutting through the mountains is the lunar Alpine Valley (Vallis Alpes). Joining the Mare Imbrium and northern Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) the valley extends toward the upper right, about 160 kilometers long and up to 10 kilometers wide. Of course, the large, bright lunar alpine mountain below and right of Plato crater is named Mont Blanc. Lacking an atmosphere, not to mention snow, the lunar Alps are probably not an ideal location for a winter vacation. Still, a 150 pound skier would weigh a mere 25 pounds on the Moon.
https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/714
https://app.astrobin.com/u/Luigi_morrone_1979?i=okquoj#gallery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alps
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/orbiter/lunar_orbiter/impact_basin/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap001228.html
https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/55
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc_(Moon)

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260115.html

#space #moon #apollo17 #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod

2025 December 27

Apollo 17's Moonship
* Image Credit: Apollo 17, NASA, (Image Reprocessing: Andy Saunders)
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo17info.html
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://www.apolloremastered.com/bio

Explanation:
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger was designed for flight in the near vacuum of space. Digitally enhanced and reprocessed, this picture taken from Apollo 17's command module America shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine underneath. The hatch that allowed access to the lunar surface is seen at the front, with a round radar antenna at the top. Mission commander Gene Cernan is clearly visible through the triangular window. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the Moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972. So where is Challenger now? While its descent stage remains at the Apollo 17 landing site in the Taurus-Littrow valley, the ascent stage pictured was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return to planet Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-17/
https://www.nasa.gov/nssdc/
https://www.nasa.gov/history/alsj-and-afj/
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/lro-apollo-17-landing-site-lithograph/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/this-week-nasa-history-apollo-17-splashes-down-dec-19-1972/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251227.html

#space #moon #apollo17 #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod