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. 2026 February 12 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. The Bay of Rainbows Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Olaf Filzinger Explanation: Dark, smooth regions that cover the Moon's [5]familiar face are called by Latin names for oceans and seas. [6]That naming convention is [7]historical, though it may seem a little ironic to denizens of the space age who recognize the Moon as a [8]mostly dry and airless world, and the smooth, dark areas as [9]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 [10]Bay of Rainbows. Ringed by the [11]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, [12]depicted by Giovanni Cassini in his 1679 telescope-based drawings mapping the moon as a [13]moon maiden seen in profile with [14]long, flowing hair. Tomorrow's picture: friends of Andromeda __________________________________________________________________ [15]< | [16]Archive | [17]Submissions | [18]Index | [19]Search | [20]Calendar | [21]RSS | [22]Education | [23]About APOD | [24]Discuss | [25]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell ([29]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply. [31]NASA Web Privacy, [32]Accessibility, [33]Notices; A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC, [37]NASA Science Activation & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/APOD-Sinus-Iridum-Olaf-Filzinger.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.sternwarte-hofheim.de/galerie/filzinger/index.html 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250720.html 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_mare 7. https://www.lindahall.org/experience/digital-exhibitions/mapping-the-moon/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220410.html 9. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/lunar-volcanism/ 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_Iridum 11. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4011 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030619.html 13. https://www.astronomy.com/observing/sinus-iridum-stirs-the-imagination/ 14. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/374468-moon-maiden/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260211.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 21. https://apod.com/feed.rss 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 24. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260212 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260213.html 26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 32. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 38. http://www.mtu.edu/