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. 2019 December 4 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Electric Night Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Ivan Pedretti Explanation: It may appear, at first, like the Galaxy is producing the lightning, but really it's the Earth. The [4]featured nighttime landscape was taken from a southern tip of the [5]Italian Island of [6]Sardinia in early June. The foreground rocks and shrubs are near the famous [7]Capo Spartivento Lighthouse, and the camera is pointed south toward [8]Algeria in [9]Africa. In the distance, across the [10]Mediterranean Sea, a [11]thunderstorm is [12]threatening, with several electric [13]lightning strokes caught together during this 25-second [14]wide-angle exposure. Much farther in the distance, strewn about the [15]sky, are hundreds of stars in the [16]neighborhood of our Sun in the [17]Milky Way Galaxy. Furthest away, and slanting down from the upper left, are [18]billions of stars that together compose the [19]central band of our Milky Way. Free Lecture: [20]APOD editor to speak in NYC on January 3 Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell ([35]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply. [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC & [41]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1912/ElectricMilkyWay_Pedretti_1920.jpg 3. http://www.thewildlifemoments.com/about/ 4. https://www.facebook.com/TheWildlifeMoments/photos/a.498596983545338/3535139636557709/?type=3&theater 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinia 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqekKjGZP38 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080705.html 12. http://en.blitzortung.org/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100720.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150518.html 15. https://www.instagram.com/universe_view_screen/ 16. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/250lys.html 17. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 18. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110710.html 20. https://www.facebook.com/events/797386130705672/ 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191203.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=191204 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191205.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 41. http://www.mtu.edu/