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First Ranger 9 Image
| title |
First Ranger 9 Image |
| date |
03.24.1965 |
| description |
The first Ranger 9 image of the Moon, taken with the A camera from a distance of 2378 km. The image is centered on the Mare Nubium region of the Moon, which extends to the bottom of the image. At upper left is southeastern Oceanus Procellarum. The two craters with the central peaks at right are Alphonsus, diameter 108 km, and below it Arzachel, diameter 96 km. The crater near the center at about 8:00 is 60 km Bullialdus. The frame is approximately 1050 km across and north is at 12:30. The final impact point of Ranger 9 is in the Alphonsus crater, midway between the central peak and rim at about 1:30. (Ranger 9, A001) *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Ar
…
| Title |
Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel |
| Explanation |
These three ancient, large impact craters lie on the north eastern shores [ http://www.lunarrepublic.com/atlas/sections/e4.shtml ] of Mare Nubium, the lunar [ http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/lunarform/ maria.html ] Sea of Clouds. Along the top of the stark mosaic [ http://www.avertedimagination.com/img_pages/Big_mosiac.html ] (left to right) are the namesakes of [ http://www.cityastronomy.com/ptolemy-article.htm ] Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel. The picture offers a remarkably detailed view of the well-studied [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonsus_(crater) ] region with shadows emphasizing the large crater central peaks and slumping walls. Careful examination also reveals the 110 kilometer long Straight Wall [ http://www.salzgeber.at/astro/moon/straight_wall.html ], a fault 200-300 meters high, and the intriguing Davy crater chain [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/ 3dsolarsystem/slide_17.html ]. Overall, the striking moonscape is similar to the final images recorded by the Ranger 9 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/ MasterCatalog?sc=1965-023A ] spacecraft, before it crashed into the 108 kilometer wide crater Alphonsus in [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060401.html ] March of 1965. |
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Live from the Moon - Impact!
PIA03495
Earth
TV Camera
| Title |
Live from the Moon - Impact! |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
On March 24, 1965, a nationwide TV audience watched live video from Ranger 9 as it purposefully crashed into the Moon within the crater Alphonsus. Ranger's six cameras sent back more than 5800 video images during the last 18 minutes of its 3-day journey, the last of the Ranger Project. The last few images show the lunar surface in detail from a few hundred meters above. This sequence of images from Camera A was converted from video to film to laser disc to digital files. |
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