﻿ 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. 2022 September 19 [2]The featured image shows star trails over a lightning storm over a city. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Star Trails and Lightning over the Pyrenees Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Marc Sellés Llimós Explanation: The beauty in this image comes in layers. On the bottom layer is the picturesque village of [4]Manlleu in [5]Barcelona, [6]Spain. The [7]six-minute exposure makes car lights into streaks. The next layer is a mountain -- [8]Serra de Bellmunt -- of Europe's famous [9]Pyrenees. Next up is a [10]tremendous lightning storm emanating from a classically-shaped [11]anvil cloud. The long exposure allowed for the capture of many intricate [12]lightning bolts. Finally, at the top and furthest in the distance are [13]stars. Here, the multi-minute exposure made stars into [14]trails. The trailing effect is caused by the rotation of the Earth, and the [15]curvature of the trails indicates their distance from the [16]north spin pole of the Earth above. Taken after sunset in early June, the [17]lightning storm soon moved off. The stars, though, will continue to [18]circle the poll for as long as the [19]Earth spins -- surely billions of years [20]into the future. Tomorrow's picture: star shells __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell ([35]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply. [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC, [41]NASA Science Activation & [42]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2209/LightningStarTrails_Llimos_5184.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/marcselles/ 4. https://youtu.be/ZvpjCiuYS0M 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Barcelona 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 7. https://www.instagram.com/p/CiN2Z5LqoXo/ 8. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_serra_de_Bellmunt_des_de_Sant_Pere_de_Torelló_-P1300493.jpg 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees 10. https://www.beverlyhillsvets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Beverly-Hills-MI-Scared-Cat.jpg 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulonimbus_incus 12. https://www.lightningmaps.org/ 13. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve 14. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-are-star-trails/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200407.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220728.html 17. https://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/lightning 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190118.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210922.html 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future#Earth,_the_Solar_System,_and_the_universe 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220918.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220919 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220920.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 42. http://www.mtu.edu/