﻿ 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 25 [2]A tree-lined hill is shown topped by a majestic cathedral. Directly behind the cathedral is of a triangular-shaped mountain top. Directly behind the mountain is a crescent moon, although the exposure is long enough to see the rest of lunar circle. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Cathedral, Mountain, Moon Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Valerio Minato Explanation: Single shots like this require planning. The first step is to realize that such an amazing [4]triple-alignment actually takes place. The second step is to find the best location to photograph it. But it was the third step: being there at exactly the right time -- and when the sky was clear -- that was the hardest. Five times over six years the photographer tried and found [5]bad weather. Finally, just ten days ago, the [6]weather was perfect, and a photographic dream was realized. Taken in [7]Piemonte, [8]Italy, the cathedral in the foreground is the [9]Basilica of Superga, the [10]mountain in the middle is [11]Monviso, and, well, [12]you know which moon is in the background. Here, even though the [13]setting Moon was captured in a crescent [14]phase, the exposure was long enough for doubly reflected [15]Earthlight, called the [16]da Vinci glow, to illuminate the entire top of the [17]Moon. Your Sky Surprise: [18]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: cosmic jellyfish __________________________________________________________________ [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/2312/MoonAligned_Minato_2974.jpg 3. https://www.facebook.com/ValerioMinatoPh 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150624.html 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210613.html 6. https://climatekids.nasa.gov/menu/weather-and-climate/ 7. https://youtu.be/oT5LB8wMNHI 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Superga 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Viso#/media/File:Monviso_-_panoramica_cresta_da_Ostanetta.jpg 11. https://youtu.be/ViA0MrOkv_Y 12. https://post.bark.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/u4nf59H.png 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200322.html 14. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5187/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthlight_(astronomy) 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190926.html 17. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.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.com/feed.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=231225 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231226.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/