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.

                                2024 March 11
      [2]Several images of a full moon setting are superposed. The moon
     images are nearly white near the top, but turn orange and then are
     covered by low clouds near the horizon. Unusually, the setting moon
     images line up almost vertically. In the foreground is a beach with
   waves illuminated by blue-glowing plankton. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                            A Full Plankton Moon
   Credit & Copyright: [3]Petr Horálek / [4]Institute of Physics in Opava

   Explanation: What glows in the night? This night [5]featured a
   combination of usual and unusual glows. Perhaps the most usual glow was
   from [6]the Moon, a potentially familiar object. The full Moon's nearly
   [7]vertical descent results from the observer being near [8]Earth's
   equator. As the Moon sets, [9]air and [10]aerosols in [11]Earth's
   atmosphere preferentially scatter out blue light, making the
   [12]Sun-reflecting satellite appear reddish when near the horizon.
   Perhaps the most [13]unusual glow was from the bioluminescent
   [14]plankton, likely less familiar objects. These [15]microscopic
   creatures glow blue, it is thought, primarily to [16]surprise and
   [17]deter predators. In this case, the glow was caused primarily by
   plankton-containing waves crashing onto the beach. The image was taken
   on [18]Soneva Fushi Island, [19]Maldives just over one year ago.

   Your Sky Surprise: [20]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                     Tomorrow's picture: horizon spiral
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn; [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC,
                         [41]NASA Science Activation
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2403/FullPlantonMoon_Horalek_1022.jpg
   3. https://www.petrhoralek.com/#about-1
   4. https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/
   5. https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=23460
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220612.html
   7. https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/upside-down.html
   8. https://www.timeanddate.com/geography/equator.html
   9. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosol
  11. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2919/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220515.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170418.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230529.html
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plankton#/media/File:Marine_microplankton.jpg
  16. https://assets-global.website-files.com/6323a9e201619b7ff6df9568/635aeda78b9def627cb87ff2_How to Handle a Frightened Dog.jpg
  17. https://www.earth.com/news/marine-plankton-glow-predators/
  18. https://youtu.be/xtK4gKNJXpA?t=18
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240310.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.com/feed.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240311
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240312.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. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/