﻿ 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. 2024 January 2 [2]A rocket is pictured ascending during launch. A nearly full moon is behind it. The rocket exhaust, itself visible, causes the bottom of the Moon to appear unusually rippled. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Rocket Transits Rippling Moon Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Steven Madow Explanation: Can a rocket make the Moon ripple? No, but it can make a background moon appear [4]wavy. The rocket, in this case, was a [5]SpaceX [6]Falcon Heavy that blasted off from [7]NASA's [8]Kennedy Space Center last week. In the [9]featured launch picture, the rocket's exhaust plume glows beyond its projection onto the distant, rising, and nearly full moon. Oddly, the Moon's lower edge shows [10]unusual drip-like ripples. The [11]Moon itself, far in the distance, was really unchanged. The [12]physical cause of these [13]apparent ripples was pockets of relatively hot or rarefied air [14]deflecting moonlight less strongly than pockets of relatively cool or compressed air: [15]refraction. Although the [16]shot was planned, the timing of [17]the launch had to be just right for the rocket to be [18]transiting the Moon during this single exposure. Tomorrow's picture: red sky arc __________________________________________________________________ [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/2401/FalconMoon_Madow_1710.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/stevenmadow/ 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110824.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX 6. https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-heavy/ 7. https://www.nasa.gov/ 8. https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy/ 9. https://www.instagram.com/p/C1axBjiML5G/ 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220531.html 11. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/ 12. https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2016/05/19/why-do-we-see-waves-hot-objects/84598570/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221014.html 14. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-a-mirage/ 15. https://youtu.be/m9cUy6B--xc 16. https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/05/71/90/95/1000_F_571909511_2H2RjYDbjosmoIBPivtXCgf61mub22oS.jpg 17. https://youtu.be/yWUU1PqX6Og?t=50 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201106.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240101.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=240102 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240103.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/