                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2018 October 2
                                      [2]
                    Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey
                    Credit & Copyright: John Entwistle [3]

Explanation: Yes, but can your rainbow do this? After the remnants of
Hurricane Florence [4]  passed over Jersey Shore [5] , New Jersey [6] , USA
[7]  last month, the Sun [8]  came out in one direction but something quite
unusual appeared in the opposite direction: a hall [9]  of rainbows [10] .
Over the course of a next half hour, to the delight of the photographer and
his daughter, vibrant supernumerary rainbows [11]  faded in and out, with at
least five captured [12]  in this featured single shot. Supernumerary rainbows
[13]  only form when falling water droplets are all nearly the same size [14]
and typically less than a millimeter across. Then, sunlight will not only
reflect [15]  from inside the raindrops, but interfere [16] , a wave
phenomenon similar to ripples on a pond [17] when a stone is thrown in. In
fact, supernumerary rainbows [18] can  only  be explained with waves, and
their noted existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence of
light's wave nature [19] .

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                        Tomorrow's picture: open space

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [35] (MTU [36] ) & Jerry Bonnell [37]
                                  (UMCP [38] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [39] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [40]
              A service of: ASD [41]  at NASA [42]  / GSFC [43]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [44]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1810/SupernumeraryRainbows_Entwistle_1362.jpg
  [3] mailto: jentwistle @at@ yahoo .dot. com
  [4] https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hurricane-florence
  [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYmDIonswmY
  [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey
  [7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
  [8] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/
  [9] ap100504.html
  [10] ap100807.html
  [11] https://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/supers.htm
  [12]
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/70/3f/b3703f3c9b83bf4ffa1f75294695795a.jpg
  [13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow#Supernumerary
  [14] https://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/supdrsz.htm
  [15] https://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/supform.htm
  [16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_interference
  [17] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9QwiBFN9gI
  [18] https://www.atoptics.co.uk/fza82.htm
  [19] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRBfpBPELmE
  [20] https://www.facebook.com/AstronomyPictureOfTheDay
  [21] https://plus.google.com/u/1/+AstronomyPictureOfTheDay
  [22] https://www.instagram.com/astronomypicturesdaily/
  [23] http://twitter.com/apod/
  [24] ap181001.html
  [25] archivepix.html
  [26] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [27] lib/aptree.html
  [28] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [29] calendar/allyears.html
  [30] /apod.rss
  [31] lib/edlinks.html
  [32] lib/about_apod.html
  [33] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=181002
  [34] ap181003.html
  [35] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [36] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [37] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [38] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [39] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [40] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [41] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [42] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [43] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [44] http://www.mtu.edu/
