Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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 December 25 [2]A snow covered road goes up a hill to a sky filled with stars. Arcs and halos in the sky ahead appear similar to a giant eye. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Diamond Dust Sky Eye Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Jaroslav Fous Explanation: Why is there a huge eye in the sky? [4]Diamond dust. That is an [5]informal term for small [6]ice crystals that form in the air and flitter to the ground. Because these crystals are [7]geometrically shaped, they can together reflect light from the [8]Sun or [9]Moon to your eyes in a systematic way, causing huge [10]halos and unusual arcs to appear. And sometimes, together the result can seem like a [11]giant eye looking right back at you. In the featured image taken in the [12]Ore Mountains of the [13]Czech Republic last week, a bright Moon rising through [14]ice fog-filled air resulted in many of these [15]magnificent sky illusions to be visible simultaneously. Besides [16]Moon dogs, [17]tangent arcs, [18]halos, and a [19]parhelic circle, [20]light pillars above distant lights are visible on the far left, while [21]Jupiter and [22]Mars can be found just inside the bottom of the [23]22-degree halo. Your Sky Surprise: [24]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: grand spiral galaxy __________________________________________________________________ [25]< | [26]Archive | [27]Submissions | [28]Index | [29]Search | [30]Calendar | [31]RSS | [32]Education | [33]About APOD | [34]Discuss | [35]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell ([39]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [40]Specific rights apply. [41]NASA Web Privacy, [42]Accessibility, [43]Notices; A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC, [47]NASA Science Activation & [48]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2412/IceHalos_Fous_5568.jpg 3. mailto: fousjarda at seznam dot cz 4. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-diamond-dust.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_dust 6. https://old.atoptics.co.uk/halo/platcol.htm 7. https://old.atoptics.co.uk/halo/platcol.htm 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231220.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200224.html 10. https://communitycloudatlas.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/colorful-arcs-in-the-sky/ 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201202.html 12. https://youtu.be/TcFp5j21HyE 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog#Freezing_conditions 15. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Surprised_orange_cat.jpg 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160321.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180914.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211228.html 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parhelic_circle 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240304.html 21. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/ 22. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/ 23. https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/en/22-halo.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241224.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 31. https://apod.com/feed.rss 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241225 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241226.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 42. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 44. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/ 46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 47. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 48. http://www.mtu.edu/