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.

                                2023 August 4
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             Moonrays of August
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Gianni Tumino

   Explanation: [5]A Full Moon rose as the Sun set on August 1. Near
   perigee, the closest point in its almost moonthly orbit, the brighter
   than average lunar disk illuminated night skies around planet Earth as
   the second [6]supermoon of 2023. Seen here above Ragusa, Sicily, cloud
   banks cast diverging shadows through the supermoonlit skies, creating
   dramatic lunar [7]crepuscular rays. The next Full Moon in 2023 will
   also [8]shine on an August night. Rising as the Sun sets on August
   30/31, this second Full Moon in a month is known as a Blue Moon.
   [9]Blue moons occur only once every 2 or 3 years because lunar phases
   take almost a calendar month (29.5 days) to go through a complete
   cycle. But August's Blue Moon will also be near perigee, the third
   supermoon in 2023.

                      Tomorrow's picture: a robin's egg
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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
              [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC
                         [30]NASA Science Activation
                           & [31]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2308/GianniTumino_Moon_Rays_JPG_LOGO_4000pix.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.facebook.com/giovanni.tumino.58
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230706.html
   6. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-a-supermoon/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220924.html
   8. https://moon.nasa.gov/news/196/the-next-full-moon-is-a-supermoon-the-sturgeon-moon/
   9. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/when-is-the-next-blue-moon/
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230803.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230804
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230805.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  31. http://www.mtu.edu/