MSGID: 1:153/757.0 6549d5f5   
   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 February 25   
       A green aurora fills a star filled sky. A mountain and a lake are in   
       the foreground. The aurora may resemble, to some, a flying or rising   
        Phoenix. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                           A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland   
      Image Credit & Copyright: Hallgrimur P. Helgason; Rollover Annotation:   
                                   Judy Schmidt   
      
      Explanation: All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am   
      in Iceland, on a quiet September night, much of that night's auroras   
      had died down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a new burst of particles   
      streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once   
      again. This time, surprisingly, pareidoliacally, the night lit up with   
      an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment   
      at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by   
      a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while   
      the small foreground river is called Kald+í, both located about 30   
      kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjav+¡k. Seasoned skywatchers   
      will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the   
      constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible   
      just above the frame center. The 2016 aurora, which lasted only a   
      minute and was soon gone forever -- would possibly be dismissed as a   
      fanciful fable -- were it not captured in the featured,   
      digitally-composed, image mosaic.   
      
        Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?   
                                    (post 1995)   
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn; Specific rights apply.   
                   NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 10/0 1 15/0 90/1 102/401 103/1 17 705 105/81 106/201 128/260   
   SEEN-BY: 129/305 134/100 135/225 153/135 143 148 757 802 6809 7083   
   SEEN-BY: 153/7715 214/22 218/0 1 215 601 700 810 840 850 860 870 880   
   SEEN-BY: 218/900 930 940 221/1 6 226/30 227/114 229/110 112 113 206   
   SEEN-BY: 229/307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 240/1120 266/512 282/1038   
   SEEN-BY: 291/111 301/1 113 812 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200   
   SEEN-BY: 396/45 460/58 633/280 712/848 5020/400 1042 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 218/700 229/426