November 14, 2011
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
Waterfall, Moonbow, and Aurora from Iceland
Birthday · November 14, 2011
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APOD published November 14, 2011. Credit: Stephane Vetter (Nuits sacrees). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The longer you look at this image, the more you see. Perhaps your eye is first drawn to the picturesque waterfall called Skogarfoss visible on the image right. Just as prevalent, however, in this Icelandic visual extravaganza, is the colorful arc of light on the left. This chromatic bow is not a rainbow, since the water drops did not originate in rainfall nor are they reflecting light from the Sun. Rather, the drops have drifted off from the waterfall and are now illuminated by the nearly full Moon. High above are the faint green streaks of aurora. The scene, captured one night last month, also shows a beautiful starscape far in the background, including the Big Dipper, part of the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major).
Image credit: Stephane Vetter (Nuits sacrees)