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Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 2007 November 25 - An Iridescent Cloud Over Colorado
Explanation:
Why would a cloud appear to be different colors?
A relatively rare phenomenon known as
iridescent clouds can show unusual colors vividly or a whole
spectrum of colors simultaneously.
These
clouds
are formed of small
water
droplets of nearly uniform size.
When the Sun is in the
right position and mostly hidden by thick clouds,
these
thinner clouds significantly
diffract
sunlight in a nearly coherent manner,
with different colors being deflected by different amounts.
Therefore,
different colors
will come to the observer from slightly different directions.
Many clouds start with uniform regions that could show
iridescence but
quickly become too thick, too mixed,
or too far from the Sun to exhibit striking colors.
This iridescent cloud was photographed above
Boulder,
Colorado last week.
APOD: 2005 September 28 - A Rocket Launch at Sunset
Explanation:
What kind of cloud is that?
Last week, a
sunset rocket launch
lit up the sky and was photographed by
sky enthusiasts as far as hundreds of miles away.
The lingering result was a
photogenic rocket plume.
Not everyone who saw the resulting plume knew its cause to be a
Minotaur rocket
launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California,
USA.
The cloud was visible after sunset on 22 September.
Fuel particles and water droplets expelled from the rocket swirled in the
winds of the upper atmosphere, creating an expanding
helix.
The noctilucent plume was so high
that it still reflected sunlight, where lower clouds in the foreground appeared dark.
The above image
also captured part of the plume reflecting sunlight as a
rainbow or a colorful
iridescent cloud.
Below the launch plume is the planet
Venus.
APOD: 2004 April 13 - An Iridescent Cloud Over France
Explanation:
Why would a cloud appear to be different colors?
A relatively rare phenomenon known as
iridescent clouds can show unusual colors vividly or a whole
spectrum of colors simultaneously.
These clouds are formed of small
water droplets of nearly uniform size.
When the Sun is in the
right position and mostly hidden by thick clouds,
these thinner clouds significantly
diffract sunlight in a nearly coherent manner,
with different colors being deflected by different amounts.
Therefore, different colors will come to the observer
from slightly different directions.
Many clouds start with uniform regions that could show
iridescence but quickly become too thick, too mixed,
or too far from the Sun to exhibit striking colors.
Pictured above, an iridescent cloud was photographed near Cannes,
France last month.
APOD: 2003 October 14 - Iridescent Clouds Over Aiguille de la Tsa
Explanation:
Before the sun rose over the mountains,
iridescent colors danced across the sky.
The unexpected light show was caused by a batch of
iridescent
clouds, and captured on film in early September
in Arolla, Wallis,
Switzerland.
The peak in the foreground of the above image is
Aiguille
de la Tsa.
Iridescent clouds
contain patches of
water
droplets of nearly identical size that can therefore
diffract sunlight in a nearly uniform manner.
Different colors will be deflected
by different amounts and so come to the observer from slightly
different directions.
Iridescent clouds are best seen outside the
glare of the direct Sun although they can occasionally
be seen to
encircle the Sun.
APOD: 2003 March 11 - Iridescent clouds
Explanation:
Why would clouds appear to be different colors?
A relatively rare phenomenon known as
iridescent clouds can show unusual colors vividly or a whole
spectrum of colors simultaneously.
These clouds are formed of small
water droplets of nearly uniform size.
When the Sun is in the
right position and mostly hidden by thick clouds,
these thinner clouds significantly
diffract sunlight in a nearly coherent manner,
with different colors being deflected by different amounts.
Therefore, different colors will come to the observer
from slightly different directions.
Many clouds start with uniform regions that could show
iridescence but quickly become too thick, too mixed,
or too far from the Sun to exhibit striking colors.
Pictured above,
iridescent clouds were photographed over
Norway two months ago.
APOD: 2000 November 17 - Leonid Sunrise
Explanation:
Such beautiful things begin as grains of sand.
Locked in an oyster a granule grows into an
iridescent pearl,
lustrous and lovely to behold.
While hurtling through the
atmosphere at 70 kilometers per second,
a cosmic sand grain becomes an
awe-inspiring meteor,
its transient beauty displayed for any
who
care to watch.
Framed perfectly between orange clouds at sunrise, this bright
meteor trail was photographed from the
Joshua Tree National Park
in California, USA during the 1998
Leonid
Meteor Shower.
Appropriately titled "Leonid Sunrise", the picture was
recorded on high-speed film (ASA 3200) with a 35mm camera.
Its striking colors and grainy, textured appearance suggest a
painting on canvas.
Of course, you could see Leonid meteors at sunrise
for yourself.
With clear skies, your next chance is
coming up ...
tomorrow morning.
APOD: July 14, 1999 - Moon, Planets, and Rocket Trails
Explanation:
Are you an
early riser?
Over the last month or so, the
bright planets Jupiter and Saturn have
come to adorn eastern skies before
sunrise.
In fact,
astrophotographer Joe Orman anticipated that an early bird's
reward for looking east on June 10 would be this pleasing
arrangement of Jupiter (top right), a crescent Moon, and
Saturn (near center),
but he was surprised to also find these
eerie, iridescent clouds wafting through the pre-dawn sky over
suburban Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
The clouds turned out to be
rocket
engine
trails from
defense missile tests at the range in
White Sands, New Mexico ... about 300 miles away.
While the
Moon's phase is just past
new moon,
gone now from the pre-dawn horizon, brilliant
Jupiter and
Saturn can still be seen high toward the southeast in the
constellation Aries.