MSGID: 1:153/757.0 49172545   
   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.   
      
                                 2025 February 24   
       A slope of volcano is pictured with red glowing lava running down its   
        side. A dark starry sky is in the background. Up into the sky a red   
          column is visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                          Light Pillar over Erupting Etna   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Davide Cali+#   
      
      Explanation: Can a lava flow extend into the sky? No, but light from   
      the lava flow can. One effect is something quite unusual -- a volcanic   
      light pillar. More typically, light pillars are caused by sunlight and   
      so appear as a bright column that extends upward above a rising or   
      setting Sun. Alternatively, other light pillars -- some quite colorful   
      -- have been recorded above street and house lights. This light pillar,   
      though, was illuminated by the red light emitted by the glowing magma   
      of an erupting volcano. The volcano is Italy's Mount Etna, and the   
      featured image was captured with a single shot during an early morning   
      in mid-February. Freezing temperatures above the volcano's lava flow   
      created ice-crystals either in the air above the volcano or in   
      condensed water vapor expelled by Mount Etna. These ice crystals --   
      mostly flat toward the ground but fluttering -- then reflected away   
      light from the volcano's caldera.   
      
                    Tomorrow's picture: stars between curtains   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          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 154/110 218/700 840 221/1   
   SEEN-BY: 221/6 360 226/30 227/114 229/110 114 206 307 317 400 426   
   SEEN-BY: 229/428 470 664 700 705 240/1120 266/512 291/111 301/1 113   
   SEEN-BY: 301/812 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58   
   SEEN-BY: 460/256 1124 633/280 712/848 902/26 5020/400 1042 8912 5054/30   
   SEEN-BY: 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426