                        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.

                              2023 February 15
       The sky over a picturesque chateau in France is shown featuring
    colorful airglow all around. Identifiable in the background night sky
   are objects that include the Orion Nebula, Sirius, Mars, and an arching
      band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                           Airglow Sky over France
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Julien Looten

   Explanation: This unusual sky was both familiar and unfamiliar. The
   photographer's mission was to capture the arch of the familiar central
   band of our Milky Way Galaxy over a picturesque medieval manor. The
   surprise was that on this January evening, the foreground sky was found
   glowing in a beautiful but unfamiliar manner. The striped bands are
   called airglow and they result from air high in Earth's atmosphere
   being excited by the Sun's light and emitting a faint light of its own.
   The bands cross the entire sky -- their curved appearance is due to the
   extremely wide angle of the camera lens. In the foreground lies Chteau
   de Losse in southwest France. Other familiar sky delights dot the
   distant background including the bright white star Sirius, the orange
   planet Mars, the blue Pleiades star cluster, the red California Nebula,
   and, on the far right, the extended Andromeda Galaxy. The initial
   mission was also successful: across the top of the frame is the arching
   band of our Milky Way.

    What if: ChatGPT rewrote this text in the style of Shakespeare, Carl
                      Sagan, or Scotty from Star Trek?
                   Tomorrow's picture: or Edgar Allen Poe
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

