﻿ 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 March 13 [2]A grassy hill is seen topped by a small tree. The tree appears to be at the end of a bright and colorful rainbow. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Rainbow Tree Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Eric Houck Explanation: What lies at the end of a rainbow? Something different for everyone. For the photographer taking this picture, for example, one [4]end of the rainbow ended at a tree. Others nearby, though, would likely see the [5]rainbow end somewhere else. The reason is because a [6]rainbow's position depends on the observer. The center of a rainbow always appears in the direction [7]opposite the Sun, but that direction lines up differently on the horizon from different locations. This [8]rainbow's arc indicates that its center is about 40 [9]degrees to the left and slightly below the horizon, while the [10]Sun is well behind the camera and just above the horizon. [11]Reflections and refractions of sunlight from raindrops in a [12]distant storm in the direction of the [13]rainbow are what causes the [14]colorful bands of light. [15]This single exposure image was captured in early January [16]near Knight's Ferry, [17]California, [18]USA. Tomorrow's picture: Soul of the night __________________________________________________________________ [19]< | [20]Archive | [21]Submissions | [22]Index | [23]Search | [24]Calendar | [25]RSS | [26]Education | [27]About APOD | [28]Discuss | [29]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [30]Robert Nemiroff ([31]MTU) & [32]Jerry Bonnell ([33]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [34]Specific rights apply. [35]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [36]ASD at [37]NASA / [38]GSFC, [39]NASA Science Activation & [40]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/RainbowTree_Houck_3198.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/a_guy_named_eric/ 4. https://youtu.be/PSZxmZmBfnU 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow 6. https://youtu.be/xkDhQGXqwCM 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190624.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221227.html 9. https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/degrees.html 10. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/by-the-numbers/ 11. https://atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/primrays.htm 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170226.html 13. https://atoptics.co.uk/bows.htm 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow#/media/File:Rainbow1.svg 15. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnFDoMGJCBn/ 16. https://youtu.be/HTTFCm5ueA8?t=39 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230312.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 28. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230313 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230314.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 33. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 35. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 36. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 39. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 40. http://www.mtu.edu/