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 September 22
   [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download and animated
                                    gif.

                            Cosmos in Reflection
             Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Jeff Dai ([5]TWAN)

   Explanation: [6]During the day, over 12,000 large mirrors reflect
   sunlight at the 100-megawatt, molten-salt, solar thermal power plant at
   the western edge of the Gobi desert near [7]Dunhuang, Gansu Province,
   China. Individual mirror panels turn to track the sun like sunflowers.
   They conspire to act as a single super mirror reflecting the sunlight
   toward a fixed position, the power station's central tower. [8]During
   the night the mirrors stand motionless though. They reflect the light
   of the countless distant stars, clusters and nebulae of the Milky Way
   [9]and beyond. This [10]sci-fi night skyscape was created with a camera
   fixed to a tripod near the edge of the giant mirror matrix on September
   15. The camera's combined sequence of digital exposures captures
   concentric arcs of celestial [11]star trails through the night with
   star trails in [12]surreal mirrored reflection.

               Tomorrow's picture: analog analemma's afternoon
     __________________________________________________________________

      [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search |
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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply.
              [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC,
                         [33]NASA Science Activation
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/CosmosinReflection-1.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://twanight.org/profile/jeff-dai/
   5. https://www.twanight.org/
   6. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-03/01/c_139775005.htm
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090619.html
   8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pbr2wIgCHE
   9. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/index.html
  10. https://www.fictionunbound.com/blog/2016/4/30/three-body-problem
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220728.html
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pbr2wIgCHE
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230921.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230922
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230923.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/