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 December 25
   [2]A snow covered road goes up a hill to a sky filled with stars. Arcs
    and halos in the sky ahead appear similar to a giant eye. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                            Diamond Dust Sky Eye
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Jaroslav Fous

   Explanation: Why is there a huge eye in the sky? [4]Diamond dust. That
   is an [5]informal term for small [6]ice crystals that form in the air
   and flitter to the ground. Because these crystals are [7]geometrically
   shaped, they can together reflect light from the [8]Sun or [9]Moon to
   your eyes in a systematic way, causing huge [10]halos and unusual arcs
   to appear. And sometimes, together the result can seem like a [11]giant
   eye looking right back at you. In the featured image taken in the
   [12]Ore Mountains of the [13]Czech Republic last week, a bright Moon
   rising through [14]ice fog-filled air resulted in many of these
   [15]magnificent sky illusions to be visible simultaneously. Besides
   [16]Moon dogs, [17]tangent arcs, [18]halos, and a [19]parhelic circle,
   [20]light pillars above distant lights are visible on the far left,
   while [21]Jupiter and [22]Mars can be found just inside the bottom of
   the [23]22-degree halo.

   Your Sky Surprise: [24]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                   Tomorrow's picture: grand spiral galaxy
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [40]Specific rights apply.
            [41]NASA Web Privacy, [42]Accessibility, [43]Notices;
                A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC,
                         [47]NASA Science Activation
                           & [48]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2412/IceHalos_Fous_5568.jpg
   3. mailto: fousjarda at seznam dot cz
   4. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-diamond-dust.html
   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_dust
   6. https://old.atoptics.co.uk/halo/platcol.htm
   7. https://old.atoptics.co.uk/halo/platcol.htm
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231220.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200224.html
  10. https://communitycloudatlas.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/colorful-arcs-in-the-sky/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201202.html
  12. https://youtu.be/TcFp5j21HyE
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog#Freezing_conditions
  15. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Surprised_orange_cat.jpg
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160321.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180914.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211228.html
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parhelic_circle
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240304.html
  21. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/
  23. https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/en/22-halo.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241224.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241225
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241226.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  44. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  47. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  48. http://www.mtu.edu/