Planetary Picture of the Day
Week of June 10, 2024

This week we present Pillars of light, mercury as it reached the closest point to the sun, Earth beyond the limb of the Moon, Jupiter by Juno and an amazing moon image.

Monday June 10

Fantastic Pillars of light observed off the coast of Japan. And no, it is not the mothership trying to land. Here is why it is important for you to know your physics, or at least a few fact in physics is not your thing. Light pillars are caused by atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (e.g. cirrostratus or cirrus clouds). A very commun source, in which case we talk about sun pillars. But there are terrestrial sources as well...and in the particular case here, marine source.The cause of this beautiful display was actually was actually lights placed on squid fishing boats to attract larger catches. As temperatures cool overnight, crystals sometimes form in the air. If the conditions are just right, large crystals will form without any precipitation, and you’ll see these pillars of light...Image source: @rainmaker1973/x. 

Tuesday June 11

Shortly after Mercury reached its closest point to the sun, its massive, comet-like tail became unusually visible in the night sky and was captured in this stunning photo....Image credit: Dr. Sebastian Voltmer

Wednesday June 12

The Earth beyond the limb of the Moon, taken from the Command Module of Apollo 17 on December 16, 1972 OTD (From original NASA image # AS17-152-23274).

Thursday June 13

Jupiter by Juno  | Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Björn Jönsson 

Friday June 14

145 Megapixel moon image composed of a mosaic of 60 panorama images! Beautiful! Credit: daryavaseum