Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

A Lunar Corona over Paris

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 30, 2024 is “A Lunar Corona over Paris,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Valter Binotto). The original explanation runs about 110 words.

The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is pictured on the left lit up in gold at night. A blue laser shines out from the top. Clouds dot the background sky. The Moon is also visible through the clouds, but is circled by colorful rings: a
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Valter Binotto Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Why does a cloudy moon sometimes appear colorful? The effect , called a lunar corona , is created by the quantum mechanical diffraction of light around individual, similarly-sized water droplets in an intervening but mostly-transparent cloud.”

— APOD editors, May 30, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 30, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Valter Binotto
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 110 words

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Topics in this entry

The Moon

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 30 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.