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 May 30
   [2]The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is pictured on the left lit
    up in gold at night. A blue laser shines out from the top. Clouds dot
   the background sky. The Moon is also visible through the clouds, but is
    circled by colorful rings: a lunar corona. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                          A Lunar Corona over Paris
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Valter Binotto

   Explanation: Why does a cloudy moon sometimes appear colorful? The
   [4]effect, called a lunar [5]corona, is created by the quantum
   mechanical [6]diffraction of light around individual, similarly-sized
   water droplets in an [7]intervening but mostly-transparent cloud. Since
   light of different colors has [8]different wavelengths, each color
   [9]diffracts differently. [10]Lunar coronae are one of the few
   [11]quantum mechanical color effects that can be [12]easily seen with
   the [13]unaided eye. [14]Solar coronae are also sometimes evident. The
   featured image was taken last month from [15]Paris, [16]France. The
   [17]blue beacon emanating from the [18]Eiffel Tower did not affect the
   [19]colorful lunar corona.

                 Portal Universe: [20]Random APOD Generator
                     Tomorrow's picture: nebulous realm
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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, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices;
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2405/EiffelCorona_Binotto_2000.jpg
   3. mailto: info at valterbinotto dot it
   4. https://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/corform.htm
   5. https://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/corona.htm
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction
   7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgiOjqTiwn8
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/01_intro
   9. https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/diffraction
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(optical_phenomenon)
  11. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=21334
  12. http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/65397/quantum-mechanics-and-everyday-nature
  13. https://images.freeimages.com/images/large-previews/755/dog-looking-at-the-camera-1411251.jpg
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160111.html
  15. https://youtu.be/72kRM86V-dw
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France
  17. https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/news/history-and-culture/beacon-covering-whole-paris-region
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190916.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240529.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=240530
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240531.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://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/