October 20, 2026
The universe is brighter with you in it. Happy birthday.
Birthday · October 20, 2026
A little universe, just for you
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published October 20, 2026. Credit: Aurelia Degli Esposti. 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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This is an unusual rainbow. For one thing, the rainbow is not complete, appearing only in a sunlit fan -- but that by itself is not very unusual. What is most unusual is the fake location of the Sun. The Sun appears to be toward the front, just below those hills -- but it is not. That is not how rainbows work. Rainbows involve a backward reflection from falling rain, so that the Sun must really be behind you. In this case, gaps between clouds near the setting Sun allowed rays to cross the entire sky and appear to converge in front, an unusual phenomenon called anticrepuscular rays. The photo was taken with a phone last week at sunset in Presenzano, Italy. The seemingly reverse rainbow was noticed when hanging up laundry.
Image credit: Aurelia Degli Esposti
Explore October 20 in other years · 32 APOD entries, 1995–2026
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