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Credit & Copyright: Alessandra Masi
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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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - Jupiter - Saturn
Publications with words: Moon - Jupiter - Saturn
See also:
- APOD: 2026 January 6 Á Jupiters Clouds in High Definition from Juno
- APOD: 2025 November 12 Á A Super Lunar Corona
- APOD: 2025 November 11 Á Jupiter in Ultraviolet from Hubble
- APOD: 2025 October 5 Á A Long Storm System on Saturn
- Long Shadows of the Montes Caucasus
- APOD: 2025 December 14 Á Juno Flyby of Ganymede and Jupiter
- Orion and the Ocean of Storms