Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Lapping at rocks along the shore of the Island of Nangan, Taiwan, planet Earth, waves are infused with a subtle blue light in this sea and night skyscape. Composed of a series of long exposures made on April 16 the image captures the faint glow from Noctiluca scintillans. Also known as sea sparkles or blue tears, the marine plankton's bioluminescence is stimulated by wave motion. City lights along the coast of mainland China shine beneath low clouds in the west but stars and the faint Milky Way still fill the night above. Over the horizon the galaxy's central bulge and dark rifts seem to echo the rocks and luminous waves.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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Publications with keywords: Milky Way
Publications with words: Milky Way
See also:

• Close Comet and the Milky Way
• Milky Way over the Pinnacles in Australia
• Southern Craters and Galaxies
• Earth and Milky Way from Space
• The Milky Way Over Monument Valley
• The Southern Cross in a Southern Sky
• Milky Way over Bosque Alegre Station in Argentina

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