﻿ 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 July 2 [2]A long vertical image shows a band of the night sky from horizon at the bottom to the opposite horizon -- at the image top. A person stands on a snow covered landscape with the central band of the Milky Way running between horizons. Each horizon is lit by red, yellow, and green auroras. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica Image Credit & Copyright: [3]LI Hang Explanation: It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of [4]Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At [5]China's [6]Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, [7]just before the end of this [8]polar night. Pointing up, the [9]wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures. In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several [10]windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the night sky, including [11]Sirius and [12]Canopus. Far in the background, [13]stretching overhead from horizon to horizon, is the [14]central band of our [15]Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible as extended smudges near the top, are the [16]Large and [17]Small Magellanic [18]Clouds, satellite galaxies near our huge [19]Milky Way Galaxy. Explore the Universe: [20]Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: venus beyond blue __________________________________________________________________ [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/2307/MWAurora_hang_4906.jpg 3. http://www.weibo.com/lihang999 4. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-antarctica-58.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhongshan_Station_(Antarctica) 7. https://dateandtime.info/citysunrisesunset.php?id=6620792 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_night 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide-angle_lens 10. https://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work 11. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sirius.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100514.html 13. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/175194979/photo/big-stretch.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=1DMdAkJMllfbCuwlN0OdD1vWbsz-kdD-PloadnaPDwY= 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110710.html 15. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/milkyway.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130528.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100903.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140916.html 19. https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/milkyway_info.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230701.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. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230702 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230703.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/