Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2025 March 3
   [2]A dark sky is shown above a bright desolate landscape. The landscape
     is the Moon and large shadows appear, with one being the shadow of
     lunar lander. A bright dot appears over the horizon that is distant
   planet Earth. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                           Blue Ghost on the Moon
                     Image Credit: [3]Firefly Aerospace

   Explanation: There's a new lander on the Moon. Yesterday [4]Firefly
   Aerospace's [5]Blue Ghost executed the first-ever successful commercial
   lunar landing. During its planned 60-day mission, [6]Blue Ghost will
   deploy several [7]NASA-commissioned scientific instruments, including
   [8]PlanetVac which captures [9]lunar dust after creating a small
   whirlwind of gas. [10]Blue Ghost will also host the [11]telescope LEXI
   that captures X-ray images of the [12]Earth's magnetosphere. [13]LEXI
   data should enable a [14]better understanding of how Earth's magnetic
   field protects the Earth from the [15]Sun's wind and [16]flares.
   [17]Pictured, the shadow of the [18]Blue Ghost lander is visible on the
   cratered [19]lunar surface, while the glowing orb of the [20]planet
   Earth hovers just over the horizon. Goals for [21]future robotic Blue
   Ghost landers include supporting lunar astronauts in NASA's [22]Artemis
   program, with [23]Artemis III currently scheduled to land humans back
   on the Moon in 2027.

                   Tomorrow's picture: quadruple alignment
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2503/BlueGhostShadow_Firefly_4096.jpg
   3. https://fireflyspace.com/
   4. https://fireflyspace.com/
   5. https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250301.html
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2025/03/02/nasa-science-touches-down-on-moon-aboard-firefly-aerospace-lander/
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/nasa-lander-to-test-vacuum-cleaner-on-moon-for-sample-collection/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221214.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ghost_Mission_1
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-lexi-will-provide-x-ray-vision-of-earths-magnetosphere/
  12. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4141
  13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38756703/
  14. https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/dog-using-computer-nerd-glasses-laptop-keyboard_67473-1841.jpg
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180902.html
  17. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fireflyspace/54359866846/in/datetaken/
  18. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=BLUEGHOST
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031109.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220227.html
  21. https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-2/
  22. https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/
  23. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250302.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250303
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250304.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/