{"id":908418,"date":"2026-07-02T22:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/908418\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:02:24","slug":"artemis-iis-nikon-z9-was-way-more-important-for-science-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/908418\/","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II’s Nikon Z9 Was Way More Important for Science Than Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AThe Planets Shine Bright \u2014 (April 6, 2026) \u2013 The Sun is eclipsed by the Moon in this April 6, 2026, image from NASA\u2019s Orion. The glow around the Moon is called zodiacal light, which describes interstellar dust that\u2019s reflecting sunlight. Unlike minutes-long eclipses as viewed from Earth, the Artemis II crew saw the Sun hide behind the Moon for nearly an hour. Because the astronauts were so close to the Moon (4,067 miles at closest approach), the Moon appeared much larger than the Sun; because of this, it took longer for the Sun to make its transit across the Moon and peek out the other side. From Earth, the Moon and Sun appear about the same size, so even small changes in their alignment quickly bring the Sun back into view, making totality much shorter. The two bright spots to the right of the Moon are Saturn and Mars. | Credit: NASA <\/p>\n

Researchers at Tokyo City University just published a new paper<\/a> in The Astrophysical Journal Letters based on photos<\/a> the Artemis II astronauts<\/a> captured in space during their lunar flyby using the Nikon Z9<\/a>. The researchers analyzed the solar corona images captured by the Artemis II astronauts, yielding new insights into the Sun\u2019s coronal structure and demonstrating the value of taking cameras into space. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe investigated the structure of the optical F-corona, i.e., inner zodiacal light, using a publicly released wide-field image of a total solar eclipse that was obtained during the Artemis\u00a0II crewed lunar flyby,\u201d the researchers, Kohji Tsumura and Ko Arimatsu, write<\/a>. \u201cIn this image, the solar disk is fully occulted by the Moon, providing a rare view of diffuse circumsolar emission over a wide angular extent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Even though the Nikon Z9 the astronauts took into space was not fully photometrically calibrated for this type of work, the researchers were able to calibrate gamma correction using the luminance values of the background stars. This \u201cstellar calibration\u201d enabled them to perform extremely detailed measurements and analysis of the Sun\u2019s F-corona. <\/p>\n

\u201cF\u201d stands for \u201cFraunhofer,\u201d and the F-corona is the part of the corona that is \u201ccaused by dust particles scattering light from the photosphere,\u201d as the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom explains<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Three\u2018Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen prepare for their journey around the far side of the Moon by configuring their camera equipment shortly before beginning their lunar flyby observations.\u2019 |Image Credit: NASA <\/p>\n

The F-corona is the brightest part of the corona \u201cfrom around 1.4 million kilometers onwards from the center of the Sun,\u201d the University of St. Andrews continues. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a particularly interesting part of the solar corona, as its scattered light includes Fraunhofer absorption lines<\/a>, which explains the name. The F-corona\u2019s light has the same wavelengths as sunlight seen from Earth. <\/p>\n

Back to the new scientific research specifically, the researchers are interested in zodiacal light (ZL), which is a \u201cmajor contributor to the diffuse brightness of the night sky\u201d and is caused by astrophysical sources beyond Earth\u2019s atmosphere. This brightening is actually caused by photospheric light from the Sun being scattered in space by interplanetary dust. Measuring ZL from Earth is challenging due to atmospheric conditions, making space-based observations essential, such as those conducted by the Artemis II astronauts using their Nikon Z9. <\/p>\n

\"Top:\u2018Figure 1. Top: image art002e009301 captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby at an altitude of approximately 6545 km above the lunar surface. The Moon fully occults the Sun, and the left side of the lunar disk is illuminated by sunlight reflected from the Earth. The apparent lunar diameter is 16
9. The glowing halo around the dark lunar disk corresponds to the F-corona (inner zodiacal light), and numerous stars are visible in the surrounding field. Bottom: the same image with an overlaid ecliptic coordinate grid. The yellow marker indicates the position of the Sun, which has an apparent diameter of and is located behind the Moon.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Even though the Sun is a relatively close cosmic object that has been extensively studied, much about it remains mysterious, including its corona. Total solar eclipses, like the one the Artemis II astronauts experienced<\/a> during their lunar flyby, provide an extremely valuable opportunity to better study the Sun. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same reason why the European Space Agency went through the extremely expensive and arduous process<\/a> of building spacecraft to create artificial total solar eclipses<\/a> repeatedly in orbit. <\/p>\n

While the Artemis II mission enchanted people back home through a grand sense of adventure and awesome photos<\/a>, it was, at its core, a scientific mission. A big part of that mission to the Moon was, ironically, studying the Sun. <\/p>\n

\"A\u2018Artemis II in Eclipse\u2019 \u2014 Nikon Z9 with adapted Nikon AF-D 35mm f\/2 lens at f\/2, 2s, ISO 1600 | Credit: NASA<\/p>\n

Through studying the Artemis II crew\u2019s photos, Tsumura and Arimatsu were able to measure the F-corona\u2019s shape, size, and intensity. Interestingly, while the Artemis II images are mostly consistent with prior space-based observations, there was a stronger emission concentration observed toward the ecliptic plane. The results also showed a more extended F-corona than expected, based on an existing model, ZodiSURF. <\/p>\n

\"Side-by-side\u2018Figure 3. Left: a normalized green channel image produced by masking the Moon and bright stars from the original art002e009301 image to extract the structure of the diffuse background emission. Right: a diffuse ZL map for the same field calculated using ZodiSURF (R. O\u2019Brien et al. 2026) with the same normalization. Intensity contours of the diffuse light at levels of [0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3] are overlaid for both images.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Most importantly, the results largely aligned with expectations and other, more rigorous observations. This is crucial, as it demonstrates the very real potential for astronauts to use consumer cameras to conduct valuable scientific research on the Sun while in space. <\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, this study demonstrates that opportunistic observations from crewed lunar missions can provide valuable insights into the structure of the inner zodiacal cloud,\u201d Tsumura and Arimatsu conclude. \u201cThese analysis provide an empirical demonstration of the scientific viability of such lunar occultation concepts and can be regarded as a valuable proof of concept supporting future lunar-orbit coronal missions.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Four\u2018Eclipse Safety First\u2019 \u2014 \u2018The Artemis II crew \u2013 Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) \u2014 uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.\u2019 | Credit: NASA <\/p>\n

The Nikon Z9 and the Artemis II astronauts, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, did some real-deal solar science with their Nikon Z9 camera, which is undeniably neat. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a real feather in Nikon\u2019s cap. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the images from the Artemis II mission return to Earth is a profound honor for all of us at Nikon. This latest research from Tokyo City University acts as a powerful reminder of what imaging can make possible when science, exploration, unrelenting effort and human curiosity come together,\u201d Hiroyuki Ikegami, Nikon\u2019s Senior Executive Vice President, General Manager of Imaging Business Group and General Manager of Imaging Business Unit, tells PetaPixel. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than five decades, from Apollo 15 to the Artemis program, Nikon has been privileged to support NASA with cameras and lenses designed for exceptional clarity and reliability in the most demanding environments. The Nikon Z9\u2019s high resolution, expansive dynamic range and outstanding low-light performance are helping crews capture incredible details.<\/p>\n

\"Man,ESA astronaut and prolific photographer Thomas Pesquets tests a version of the HULC in 2023. | Credit: ESA <\/p>\n

\u201cThese images help to advance research and deepen our understanding of space, while continued testing of the Z9 prepares for the vast scientific possibilities of future missions<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to play a small role in this historic journey, but the focus rightly belongs to the Artemis crew and the scientists around the world who will use these images and data to expand the boundaries of discovery.\u201d <\/p>\n

Image credits:<\/strong> NASA. The Artemis II crew comprises Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. The research paper discussed in this article is \u2018Large-scale Morphology of the Optical F-corona from a Total Solar Eclipse Observation during the Artemis II Lunar Flyby<\/a>,\u2019 by Kohji Tsumura and Ko Arimatsu. It has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 1004, Number 1. DOI 10.3847\/2041-8213\/ae71c8 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Planets Shine Bright \u2014 (April 6, 2026) \u2013 The Sun is eclipsed by the Moon in this…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":908419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[3295,245763,23039,71874,994,916,32910,32911,159,65261,783,582,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-908418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-artemis","tag-artemisii","tag-astro","tag-lunar","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-nikon","tag-nikon-z9","tag-science","tag-solareclipse","tag-space","tag-sun","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116852644650643817","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}