                        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 May 29
   A shoreline glowing with blue bioluminescent plankton is shown, with a
       stand of trees in the distance. Above all is a starry sky which
     includes red nebulae and the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland
   Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava,
                                 Sovena Jani

   Explanation: What glows there? The answer depends: sea or sky? In the
   sea, the unusual blue glow is bioluminescence. Specifically, the
   glimmer arises from Noctiluca scintillans, single-celled plankton
   stimulated by the lapping waves. The plankton use their glow to startle
   and illuminate predators. This mid-February display on an island in the
   Maldives was so intense that the astrophotographer described it as a
   turquoise wonderland. In the sky, by contrast, are the more familiar
   glows of stars and nebulas. The white band rising from the
   artificially-illuminated green plants is created by billions of stars
   in the central disk of our Milky Way Galaxy. Also visible in the sky is
   the star cluster Omega Centauri, toward the left, and the famous
   Southern Cross asterism in the center. Red-glowing nebulas include the
   bright Carina Nebula, just right of center, and the expansive Gum
   Nebula on the upper right.

                      Tomorrow's picture: nebular bell
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