﻿ 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 September 27 [2]A rural road is pictured running to the horizon with rural grassy fields on both sides. Rising from the lower left is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Rising from the horizon -- just at the visible end of the road, is a thin twisting band of light twisting green and red bands -- a STEVE. The STEVE crosses in front of the Milky Way band making a big STEVE and Milky Way Cross over Rural Road Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Theresa Clarke Explanation: Not every road ends in a STEVE. A week ago, a sky enthusiast's journey began with a goal: to photograph an [4]aurora over [5]Lake Huron. Driving through rural [6]Ontario, [7]Canada, the forecasted sky show started [8]unexpectedly early, causing the photographer to stop before arriving at the scenic [9]Great Lake. Aurora images were taken toward the north -- but over land, not sea. While waiting for a second round of auroras, a [10]peculiar band of light was noticed to the west. Slowly, the photographer and friends realized that this western band was likely an unusual type of aurora: a [11]Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). Moreover, this [12]STEVE was putting on quite a show: appearing intertwined with the central band of our [13]Milky Way Galaxy while intersecting the horizon just near the end of the country road. After capturing [14]this cosmic X on camera, the photographer paused to appreciate the [15]unexpected awesomeness of finding extraordinary beauty in an ordinary setting. Your Sky Surprise: [16]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [17]< | [18]Archive | [19]Submissions | [20]Index | [21]Search | [22]Calendar | [23]RSS | [24]Education | [25]About APOD | [26]Discuss | [27]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [28]Robert Nemiroff ([29]MTU) & [30]Jerry Bonnell ([31]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [32]Specific rights apply. [33]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC, [37]NASA Science Activation & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/SteveMw_Clarke_4177.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/tc_1865/ 4. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/ 5. https://youtu.be/iM73QjPiiwU 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada 8. https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=18&month=09&year=2023 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210505.html 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEVE 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201117.html 13. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 14. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxZdU7rsPiW/ 15. https://medicaregranny.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/5cfa3122210000690de6bfca.jpeg 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230926.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 26. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230927 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230928.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 31. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 33. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 38. http://www.mtu.edu/