Explanation: Why does a cloudy moon sometimes appear colorful? The effect, called a lunar corona, is created by the quantum mechanical diffraction of light around individual, similarly-sized water droplets in an intervening but mostly-transparent cloud. Since light of different colors has different wavelengths, each color diffracts differently. Lunar Coronae are one of the few quantum mechanical color effects that can be easily seen with the unaided eye. Solar coronae are also sometimes evident. The featured composite image was captured a few days before the close Great Conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter last month. In the foreground, the Italian village of Pieve di Cadore is visible in front of the Sfornioi Mountains.

New: APOD is now available in Taiwanese from National Central University

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: Moon - Jupiter - Saturn - Luna - Yupiter - Saturn Publikacii so slovami: Moon - Jupiter - Saturn - Luna - Yupiter - Saturn
Sm. takzhe: Luna Dlinnoi nochi Polyarnoe siyanie vokrug severnogo polyusa Saturna Yupiter okolo protivostoyaniya: stereofotografiya Zahod Zemli s "Oriona" Apollon-12 i Serveior-3 Bezdna Yupitera Saturn noch'yu Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>