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Mare Crisium - Sea of Crises
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Caption: The image shows the lunar Mare Crisium, the “Sea of Crises,” as seen by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2015. The photo size is 750 × 750 km, about the size of Germany. Mare Crisium is located in the Moon’s Crisium basin, near the great Mare Tranquillitatis on the near side of the Moon. It is visible from Earth and is characterized by a relatively smooth and flat surface surrounded by cliffs and highlands. The basin that now contains the Mare Crisium was formed by a massive impact event likely during the Nectarian period approximately 3.9 billion years ago. During this time in lunar history, major basins including the Crisium basis were formed by large impact events. Later in lunar history, the basin was flooded by lava to form the dark and flat plain we see today. Its floor is about 1.8 kilometers below the typical lunar surface level. The study of lunar maria provides insights into the volcanic history and impact processes that have affected the Moon and other celestial objects.
Credit: NASA, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Credit Link
Glossary Terms:
Moon , Mare
Categories:
Solar System
License: Public Domain Public Domain icons
File
( image
6.78 MB)
Solar eclipse phases
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Caption: Composed image of the solar eclipse of April 8th, 2024. These images were taken in Arkansas, USA.
Credit: Carolin Liefke
Tags:
Solar eclipse
, Sun
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
File
( image
12.61 MB)
Record-Breaking Off-Earth Driving: Rovers on Mars & the Moon
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Caption: Part of the Simplifying Astronomy for Arabic Speakers project, this infographic highlights the longest distances traveled by rovers on Mars and the Moon, showcasing space exploration’s progress.
Top Rovers & Their Achievements
Mars: NASA’s Opportunity holds the record, covering 45.16 km between 2004–2018.
Moon: The Soviet Lunokhod 2 leads with 39 km, followed by Apollo rovers:
Apollo 17: 35.74 km
Apollo 15: 27.8 km
Apollo 16: 27.1 km
Mars vs. Moon: Different Challenges
1. Martian Terrain – Mars has a thin atmosphere, dust storms, and rugged landscapes, requiring durable, long-term rovers.
2. Lunar Terrain – The Moon’s cratered surface lacks an atmosphere, allowing easier movement but with shorter mission durations.
3. Mission Longevity – Mars rovers operate for years, while Apollo lunar rovers were used briefly.
Future Rovers & Expectations
Curiosity may reach 42.195 km, making it one of Mars' most traveled rovers.
Yutu-2 (China) continues exploring the Moon since 2019.
Conclusion
These record-breaking distances showcase technological advancements in planetary exploration. With continued innovation, future rovers will go even further, paving the way for ambitious human missions beyond Earth!
Credit: Ali Al-Edhari ; adapted from the original by NASA/JPL-Caltech
Glossary Terms:
Rover
Categories:
Space Exploration
Language: Arabic
Script: Arabic
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
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( image
1.66 MB)
Jupiter, Io and its shadow, by Ralf Burkart, Germany
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Created for the OAE
Caption: First place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Galilean moons.
This time-lapse of Jupiter taken in 2017 from Germany beautifully illustrates the transit of one of the Galilean moons, Io, in front of Jupiter. As this is simply a moon casting a shadow on a planet it is equivalent to a lunar eclipse on Earth observed from further away. While the shadow of the moon is clearly visible from the beginning, it might be difficult to spot the moon itself against the background of the beautiful atmospheric bands of Jupiter the first time the video is seen. Watching it repeatedly allows appreciating the rapid motion and rotation in this fantastic observation.
Credit: Ralf Burkart/IAU OAE
Glossary Terms:
Galilean Satellites , Gas Giant , Io , Jupiter , Moons , Orbit , Outer Planets , Planet , Transit
Categories:
Solar System
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
This file on Zenodo ( video 12.64 MB)
High-resolution image of the surface of the Sun
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Caption: This high-resolution image of a small portion of the outermost visible "surface" of the Sun (the photosphere) covers an area 36,500 by 36,500 km. It was one of the first images taken by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, as part of the telescope's Science Verification Phase. Each of the cells that are visible is about the size of the US state Texas, or of France, or of Afghanistan, or of Somalia. In the brighter centers of these cells, plasma from the underlying regions rises to the surface, cools off, and then sinks down again at the location of the darker lanes delineating the cells. In these dark lanes we can also see the tiny, bright markers of magnetic fields.
Credit: NSO/NSF/AURA
Credit Link
Glossary Terms:
Photosphere , Granulation
Categories:
The Sun
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
File
( image
17.04 MB)
