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 27 [2]A waterfall is shown in the image center below a starry sky. Arching above the waterfall is a colorful aurora. Arching above the aurora is the central band of the Milky Way. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Rainbow Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Stefano Pellegrini Explanation: Yes, but can your aurora do this? First, yes, [4]auroras can look like [5]rainbows even though they are completely different phenomena. Auroras are caused by Sun-created particles being channeled into [6]Earth's atmosphere by [7]Earth's magnetic field, and [8]create colors by exciting [9]atoms at different heights. Conversely, [10]rainbows are created by sunlight backscattering off falling raindrops, and different colors are [11]refracted by slightly different angles. [12]Unfortunately, auroras can’t create waterfalls, but if you plan well and are lucky enough, you can photograph them together. The [13]featured picture is composed of several images taken on the same night last month near the [14]Skógafoss waterfall in [15]Iceland. The planning centered on capturing the [16]central band of our [17]Milky Way galaxy over the [18]picturesque [19]cascade. By luck, a [20]spectacular aurora soon appeared just below the curving arch of the Milky Way. Far in the background, the [21]Pleiades star cluster and the [22]Andromeda galaxy can be found. Your Sky Surprise: [23]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/ArchFalls_Pellegrini_2000.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/pels_photo/ 4. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/ 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140930.html 6. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2919/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/ 7. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earths-magnetosphere-3/ 8. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20056 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom 10. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rainbow/ 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction 12. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/854269380/photo/golden-retriever-face-and-hand.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=AzjIMNJB3PqXciBWggT64jmFwCgPw8FTWllTFzf48rM= 13. https://www.instagram.com/p/C0j1H5wsAAr/ 14. https://youtu.be/-eejVvSLQfk 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230620.html 17. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230704.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211101.html 20. https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5bad12683c000032000b0e42.jpeg 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231113.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231226.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.com/feed.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231227 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231228.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 45. http://www.mtu.edu/