Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Moon over Makemake

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 31, 2022 is “Moon over Makemake,” an image. It is credited to Illustration Credit: Alex H. Parker ( Southwest Research Institute ). The original explanation runs about 163 words.

Moon over Makemake
Credit: Illustration Credit: Alex H. Parker ( Southwest Research Institute ) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Makemake (sounds like MAH-kay MAH-kay), second brightest dwarf planet of the Kuiper belt , has a moon. Nicknamed MK2, Makemake’s moon reflects sunlight with a charcoal-dark surface, about 1,300 times fainter than its parent body.”

— APOD editors, December 31, 2022

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 31, 2022
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Illustration Credit: Alex H. Parker ( Southwest Research Institute )
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 163 words

All of December 2022 → · 2022 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The MoonThe Sun

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 31 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.