July 26, 2019
The night sky on your birthday is never quite the same twice — the planets shift, the constellations drift, the Moon wears a different phase.
The Veins of Heaven
Birthday · July 26, 2019
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published July 26, 2019. Credit: Clear Skies. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Transfusing sunlight through a still dark sky, this exceptional display of noctilucent clouds was captured earlier this month, reflected in the calm waters of Vallentuna Lake near Stockholm, Sweden. From the edge of space, about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds themselves still reflect sunlight even though the Sun is below the horizon as seen from the ground. Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months the night shining clouds have made a strong showing so far during the short northern summer nights. Also known as polar mesopheric clouds they are understood to form as water vapor driven into the cold upper atmosphere condenses on the fine dust particles supplied by disintegrating meteors or volcanic ash. NASA's AIM mission provides daily projections of noctilucent clouds as seen from space.
Image credit: Clear Skies