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                           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 March 12   
       A field of snow is shown, lined with trees along the back. Above the   
      horizon is an unusual white spiral cloud. Stars dot the background, and   
      faint green and red aurora are also visible. Please see the explanation   
                          for more detailed information.   
      
                       A Galaxy-Shaped Rocket Exhaust Spiral   
                        Credit & Copyright: Seung Hye Yang   
      
      Explanation: What's that over the horizon? What may look like a   
      strangely nearby galaxy is actually a normal rocket's exhaust plume --   
      but unusually backlit. Although the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched   
      from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, its burned propellant was visible   
      over a much wider area, with the featured photograph being taken from   
      Akureyri, Iceland. The huge spaceship was lifted off a week ago, and   
      the resulting spectacle was captured soon afterward with a single   
      10-second smartphone exposure, before it quickly dissipated. Like   
      noctilucent clouds, the plume's brightness is caused by the Twilight   
      Effect, where an object is high enough to be illuminated by the   
      twilight Sun, even when the observer on the ground experiences the   
      darkness of night. The spiral shape is likely caused by high winds   
      pushing the expelled gas into the shape of a corkscrew, which, when   
      seen along the trajectory, looks like a spiral. Stars and faint green   
      and red aurora appear in the background of this extraordinary image.   
      
                     Tomorrow's picture: bird in red and blue   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn; Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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