Subj : Daily APOD Report To : All From : Alan Ianson Date : Thu May 30 2024 00:08:16 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. 2024 May 30 The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is pictured on the left lit up in gold at night. A blue laser shines out from the top. Clouds dot the background sky. The Moon is also visible through the clouds, but is circled by colorful rings: a lunar corona. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. A Lunar Corona over Paris Image Credit & Copyright: Valter Binotto 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 image was taken last month from Paris, France. The blue beacon emanating from the Eiffel Tower did not affect the colorful lunar corona. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: nebulous realm __________________________________________________________________ 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. --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757) .