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 4
      [2]A thin crescent moon is shown with a bright red contrail going
   through it, right to left. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                        Plane Crossing Crescent Moon
                  Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Juned Patel

   Explanation: No, the Moon is not a bow, and no, it did not shoot out a
   plane like an arrow. What is pictured is a chance superposition. The
   plane's [4]contrail would normally appear white, but the large volume
   of air toward the rising Sun preferentially knocked away blue light,
   not only making the [5]sky blue, but giving the reflected trail a
   bright [6]red hue. Far in the distance, well behind [7]the plane, the
   [8]crescent Moon also appears slightly reddened. Captured early last
   month from [9]Bolton, [10]UK, the featured image was taken so soon
   after sunrise that the plane was sunlit from below, as was its
   contrail. Within minutes, unfortunately, the impromptu sky [11]show
   ended. The plane moved out of sight. The [12]Moon kept rising but
   became harder to see through a brightening sky. And the [13]contrail
   gradually dispersed.

                      Tomorrow's picture: powerful ray
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/BowArrow_Patel_2895.jpg
   3. mailto: junedpatel at hotmail dot com
   4. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/on-the-trail-of-contrails
   5. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050711.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?tquery=airplane
   8. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
  11. https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/05/19/world/17grumpycat-1/17grumpycat-1-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg
  12. https://moon.nasa.gov/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041013.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231203.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231204
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231205.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/