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 December 23
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           A December Summer Night
        Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Ian Griffin ([5]Otago Museum)

   Explanation: Colours of a serene evening sky are captured in this 8
   minute exposure, made near [6]this December's solstice from New
   Zealand, southern hemisphere, [7]planet Earth. Looking south, star
   trails form the short concentric arcs around the rotating planet's
   [8]south celestial pole positioned just off the top of the frame. At
   top and left of center are trails of the [9]Southern Cross stars and a
   dark smudge from the [10]Milky Way's Coalsack Nebula. [11]Alpha and
   Beta Centauri make the brighter yellow and blue tinted trails,
   reflected below in the waters of Hoopers Inlet in the Pacific coast of
   the South Island's Otago Peninsula. On that short December summer
   night, [12]aurora australis also gave luminous, green and reddish hues
   to the sky above the hills. [13]An upper atmospheric glow distinct from
   the aurora excited by collisions with energetic particles, pale
   greenish bands of airglow caused by a cascade of chemical reactions
   [14]excited by sunlight can be traced in diagonal bands near the top
   left.

                     Tomorrow's picture: a cosmic cocoon
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply.
              [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC,
                         [35]NASA Science Activation
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/DSCF6968-Enhanced-NR.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.instagram.com/portobellopictures/
   5. https://otagomuseum.nz/
   6. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice/
   7. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210101.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190426.html
  10. https://oneminuteastronomer.com/2036/coalsack-nebula/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220328.html
  12. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150117/southern-nights-with-lights
  13. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/why-nasa-watches-airglow-the-colors-of-the-upper-atmospheric-wind/
  14. https://atoptics.co.uk/blog/airglow-formation/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231222.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231223
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/