Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Mon Feb 24 2025 00:07:04

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                              2025 February 24
    A slope of volcano is pictured with red glowing lava running down its
     side. A dark starry sky is in the background. Up into the sky a red
       column is visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                       Light Pillar over Erupting Etna
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Davide Cali+#

   Explanation: Can a lava flow extend into the sky? No, but light from
   the lava flow can. One effect is something quite unusual -- a volcanic
   light pillar. More typically, light pillars are caused by sunlight and
   so appear as a bright column that extends upward above a rising or
   setting Sun. Alternatively, other light pillars -- some quite colorful
   -- have been recorded above street and house lights. This light pillar,
   though, was illuminated by the red light emitted by the glowing magma
   of an erupting volcano. The volcano is Italy's Mount Etna, and the
   featured image was captured with a single shot during an early morning
   in mid-February. Freezing temperatures above the volcano's lava flow
   created ice-crystals either in the air above the volcano or in
   condensed water vapor expelled by Mount Etna. These ice crystals --
   mostly flat toward the ground but fluttering -- then reflected away
   light from the volcano's caldera.

                 Tomorrow's picture: stars between curtains
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

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