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Credit & Copyright: Petr Horölek /
Institute of Physics in Opava
Explanation:
What glows in the night?
This night
featured a combination of usual and unusual glows.
Perhaps the most usual glow was from
the Moon, a potentially familiar object.
The full Moon's nearly
vertical descent results from the observer being near
Earth's equator.
As the Moon sets,
air and
aerosols in
Earth's atmosphere preferentially scatter out blue light, making
the
Sun-reflecting satellite appear reddish when
near the horizon.
Perhaps the most
unusual glow
was from the bioluminescent
plankton, likely less familiar objects.
These microscopic creatures glow blue, it is thought, primarily to
surprise
and
deter predators.
In this case, the glow was caused primarily by
plankton-containing waves crashing onto the beach.
The image was taken on
Soneva Fushi Island,
Maldives just over
one year ago.
Your Sky Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
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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: full moon
Publications with words: full moon
See also: