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.

                                 2023 May 29
   [2]A shoreline glowing with blue bioluminescent plankton is shown, with
      a stand of trees in the distance. Above all is a starry sky which
     includes red nebulae and the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland
   Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Petr Horálek / [4]Institute of Physics in
                             Opava, Sovena Jani

   Explanation: What glows there? The answer depends: sea or sky? In the
   sea, the unusual blue glow is [5]bioluminescence. Specifically, the
   glimmer arises from [6]Noctiluca scintillans, single-celled plankton
   stimulated by the lapping waves. The [7]plankton use their glow to
   [8]startle and illuminate predators. This mid-February display on an
   island in the [9]Maldives was so intense that the astrophotographer
   described it as a [10]turquoise wonderland. In the sky, by contrast,
   are the more familiar glows of [11]stars and [12]nebulas. The white
   band rising from the artificially-illuminated [13]green plants is
   created by billions of stars in the central disk of our [14]Milky Way
   Galaxy. Also visible in the sky is the star cluster [15]Omega Centauri,
   toward the left, and the famous [16]Southern Cross [17]asterism in the
   center. Red-glowing nebulas include the bright [18]Carina Nebula, just
   right of center, and the expansive [19]Gum Nebula on the upper right.

                      Tomorrow's picture: nebular bell
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([34]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [35]Specific rights apply.
              [36]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC,
                         [40]NASA Science Activation
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2305/SeaBlueSky_Horalek_960.jpg
   3. https://www.petrhoralek.com/#about-1
   4. https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/
   5. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/bioluminescence
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctiluca_scintillans
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plankton
   8. https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2040076/startled-cat-looks-camera.jpg?w=790&f=eead42729d60aeb4993404f1cdd17f5a
   9. https://youtu.be/hCQvPX0DLFM
  10. https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=23528
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
  12. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/nebula/en/
  13. https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduce-the-noise-in-photosynthesis-20200730/
  14. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230316.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210125.html
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(astronomy)
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220425.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221129.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230528.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230529
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230530.html
  31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/