MSGID: 1:153/757.0 a41f5a50   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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.   
      
                                 2024 December 25   
      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: Jaroslav Fous   
      
      Explanation: Why is there a huge eye in the sky? Diamond dust. That is   
      an informal term for small ice crystals that form in the air and   
      flitter to the ground. Because these crystals are geometrically shaped,   
      they can together reflect light from the Sun or Moon to your eyes in a   
      systematic way, causing huge halos and unusual arcs to appear. And   
      sometimes, together the result can seem like a giant eye looking right   
      back at you. In the featured image taken in the Ore Mountains of the   
      Czech Republic last week, a bright Moon rising through ice fog-filled   
      air resulted in many of these magnificent sky illusions to be visible   
      simultaneously. Besides Moon dogs, tangent arcs, halos, and a parhelic   
      circle, light pillars above distant lights are visible on the far left,   
      while Jupiter and Mars can be found just inside the bottom of the   
      22-degree halo.   
      
        Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?   
                                    (post 1995)   
                      Tomorrow's picture: grand spiral galaxy   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
                     NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 19/10 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/305 134/100 153/135 143   
   SEEN-BY: 153/148 151 757 6809 7083 7715 218/700 840 221/1 6 360 226/30   
   SEEN-BY: 227/114 229/110 114 206 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 705   
   SEEN-BY: 240/1120 266/512 282/1038 291/111 301/1 113 812 320/219 322/757   
   SEEN-BY: 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58 256 1124 633/280 712/848   
   SEEN-BY: 902/26 5020/400 1042 8912 5054/30 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426