August 2, 2026
Another trip around the Sun. A whole sky of possibilities.
Birthday · August 2, 2026
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published August 2, 2026. Credit: Christa Harbig. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Read the original APOD for the astronomer’s explanation and full image credits. Its text is preserved in the archive as published.
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What's happening to this cloud? Ice crystals in a distant cirrus cloud are acting like little floating prisms. Known informally as a fire rainbow for its flame-like appearance, a circumhorizon arc appears parallel to the horizon. For a circumhorizontal arc to be visible, the Sun must be at least 58 degrees high in a sky where cirrus clouds present below -- in this case cirrus fibratus. The numerous, flat, hexagonal ice-crystals that compose the cirrus cloud must be aligned horizontally to properly refract sunlight in a collectively similar manner. Therefore, circumhorizontal arcs are somewhat unusual to see. The featured fire rainbow was photographed in 2021 near North Fork Mountain in West Virginia, USA. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)
Image credit: Christa Harbig
Explore August 2 in other years · 32 APOD entries, 1995–2026
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