April 18, 2017
Your life began on a planet that never stops moving under a sky that never stops changing.
Night Glows
Birthday · April 18, 2017
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published April 18, 2017. Credit: Taha Ghouchkanlu. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
What glows in the night? This night, several unusual glows were evident -- some near, but some far. The foreground surf glimmers blue with the light of bioluminescent plankton. Next out, Earth's atmosphere dims the horizon and provides a few opaque clouds. Farther out, the planet Venus glows bright near the image center. If you slightly avert your eyes, a diagonal beam of light will stand out crossing behind Venus. This band is zodiacal light, sunlight scattered by dust in our Solar System. Much farther away are numerous single bright stars, most closer than 100 light years away. Farthest away, also rising diagonally and making a "V" with the zodiacal light, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Most of the billions of Milky Way stars and dark clouds are thousands of light years away. The featured image was taken last November on the Iranian coast of Gulf of Oman.
Image credit: Taha Ghouchkanlu