Astronomy Picture of the Day  
    
      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 July 25  
    
                            Tranquility and Serenity  
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Ny+½rdson Ferreira  
    
     Explanation: The Seas of Tranquility and Serenity are calm today.  
     They're calm most every day though, since they are actually lunar  
     maria, ancient lava flows filling in large impact basins on the Moon.  
     Also known by Latin names Mare Tranquillitatis (right) and Mare  
     Serenitatis, the smooth dark lunar "seas" are in stark contrast to the  
     bright cratered lunar highlands surrounding them in this telescopic  
     view. Of course their names are based on the historical, pre-telescopic  
     designations of lunar maria. Easily visible to the unaided eye, the  
     broad features on the Moon's near side were imagined to be like the  
     expansive oceans of planet Earth. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar  
     module Eagle touched down on the Mare Tranquillitatis (at lower right),  
     establishing Tranquility base and the first human presence on the Moon.  
    
                   Tomorrow's picture: a galaxy cluster forms  
       __________________________________________________________________  
    
         Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)  
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