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 December 30
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             The Last Full Moon
              Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Giacomo Venturin

   Explanation: Known to some in the northern hemisphere as [5]December's
   Cold Moon or [6]the Long Night Moon, the last full moon of 2023 is
   rising in this surreal mountain and skyscape. The Daliesque scene was
   captured in a single exposure with a camera and long telephoto lens
   near Monte Grappa, Italy. The full moon is [7]not melting, though. Its
   stretched and distorted appearance near the horizon is caused as
   refraction along the line of sight changes and creates shifting images
   or [8]mirages of the bright lunar disk. The changes in atmospheric
   refraction correspond to [9]atmospheric layers with sharply different
   temperatures and densities. Other effects of atmospheric refraction
   produced by the long sight-line to this full moon rising include the
   thin red rim seen faintly on the distorted lower edge of the Moon and a
   thin [10]green rim along the top.

                        Tomorrow's picture: Illustris
     __________________________________________________________________

      [11]< | [12]Archive | [13]Submissions | [14]Index | [15]Search |
   [16]Calendar | [17]RSS | [18]Education | [19]About APOD | [20]Discuss |
                                    [21]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC,
                         [31]NASA Science Activation
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/2023_12_27-fullmoon.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. mailto: giacomoventurin74i at gmail dot com
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/
   6. https://earthsky.org/tonight/december-full-moon-mimics-the-june-sun/
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory
   8. https://atoptics.co.uk/blog/full-moon-mirage/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170120.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220715.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231229.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231230
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231231.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/