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APOD
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.
Four Towers and the Equinox Moon
Explanation: The first Full Moon of northern spring rises behind four distant towers in this telescopic view . In an image captured from some 40 kilometers west of the city of Madrid, this moonrise also represents a near coincidence of the full lunar phase with lunar perigee and the March equinox . Close to the horizon, the Full Moon's strangely rippled and distorted shape has more to do with the long sight-line through a layered atmosphere , though. Tantalizing visible effects of the substantial atmospheric refraction include the appearance of a thin floating sliver just above the lunar disk. The remarkable optical mirage is related to the more commonly witnessed green flash of the setting Sun.
| Date | March 23, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Martinez Moran |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |