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 December 23 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. A December Summer Night Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Ian Griffin ([5]Otago Museum) Explanation: Colours of a serene evening sky are captured in this 8 minute exposure, made near [6]this December's solstice from New Zealand, southern hemisphere, [7]planet Earth. Looking south, star trails form the short concentric arcs around the rotating planet's [8]south celestial pole positioned just off the top of the frame. At top and left of center are trails of the [9]Southern Cross stars and a dark smudge from the [10]Milky Way's Coalsack Nebula. [11]Alpha and Beta Centauri make the brighter yellow and blue tinted trails, reflected below in the waters of Hoopers Inlet in the Pacific coast of the South Island's Otago Peninsula. On that short December summer night, [12]aurora australis also gave luminous, green and reddish hues to the sky above the hills. [13]An upper atmospheric glow distinct from the aurora excited by collisions with energetic particles, pale greenish bands of airglow caused by a cascade of chemical reactions [14]excited by sunlight can be traced in diagonal bands near the top left. Tomorrow's picture: a cosmic cocoon __________________________________________________________________ [15]< | [16]Archive | [17]Submissions | [18]Index | [19]Search | [20]Calendar | [21]RSS | [22]Education | [23]About APOD | [24]Discuss | [25]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell ([29]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply. [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC, [35]NASA Science Activation & [36]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/DSCF6968-Enhanced-NR.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.instagram.com/portobellopictures/ 5. https://otagomuseum.nz/ 6. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice/ 7. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210101.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190426.html 10. https://oneminuteastronomer.com/2036/coalsack-nebula/ 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220328.html 12. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150117/southern-nights-with-lights 13. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/why-nasa-watches-airglow-the-colors-of-the-upper-atmospheric-wind/ 14. https://atoptics.co.uk/blog/airglow-formation/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231222.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231223 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.html 26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 36. http://www.mtu.edu/