The flood of data from the Artemis 2 flyby is being posted in glorious high definition, and large files to NASA's usual places: Flickr, and NASA's images page. Artemis II has its own "Mission Science Page" that features some nice photos, too, just not strictly the flyby pictures. The second one, is page of 1 of 15 from only this year and none of the pages appear to be sorted in any logical way. For example I went to page 15 figuring those should be the most recent pictures and a couple of side by side pictures were from before the mission launched and last night's.
The usual space-related news sources might be easier on your nerves. Both Space.com's article and Ars Technica's have a small sample but good pictures.
The Moon, seen here backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse on April 6, 2026, is photographed by one of the cameras on the Orion spacecraft’s solar array wings. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the Moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars. Credit: NASA
On Saturday (4/4) I commented that Comet MAPS appeared to have disintegrated. I didn't see that confirmed until this morning, Apr 7th.
The much-heralded Comet MAPS, proclaimed by some as "The Great Easter Comet," met its end this past Saturday (April 4). The comet apparently underwent a cataclysmic fragmentation just hours before it was to make its closest approach — called perihelion — to the sun. Such was not completely unexpected, for Comet MAPS was a Kreutz sungrazer, a type of comet that comes literally within a hairbreadth of the sun. They may all have evolved from the breakup of a usually large comet's close approach to the sun, perhaps a millennium ago. From this progenitor, countless fragments of different sizes have been circling the sun in similar orbits.
Did you see the 'Not gone to the Moon' nutjobs are already saying that the Artemis II is hollywood-level fakery including greenscreen usage and such?
ReplyDeleteOne comment I saw was that the Earth was in the wrong position in one photo so therefore it's all fake.
Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.