Credit & Copyright: Bill Rosen
Explanation:
Last Thursday, millions of people had an
unexpectedly good view of a
dark night sky.
Usually, the reflection of
city lights off of local
air impurities makes it hard for
casual observers to see more than a
handful of stars from a
bright
urban area.
A large power outage in northeast
North America, however, dimmed most city lights and
brought unfamiliar celestial wonders
to many who looked up.
The unexpected starscape was perhaps a
small perk in the face of hardships endured by
many during the black out.
Prominent in the above four-image digital montage are two of the few
celestial
wonders
that can be seen even above the usual glare of city
light pollution: the
Moon and
Mars.
Both appear on the far left, with
Mars to the upper right of the Moon.
Scrolling right will show how eerily dark
New York City appeared from across the
Hudson River in
New Jersey
at about 10 pm on 2003 August 14.
Visible lights are mostly attributable to cars, local power generators, flashlights,
and candles.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - Mars
Publications with words: Moon - Mars
See also: