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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 March 4
   A hazy night sky shows four lined up items. The closest two are lit-up
   buildings on hills. Looming large in the background, in alignment, is a
   gibbous Moon, distorted and reddened by the Earth's atmosphere. Across
       the Moon's face is a streak that is an airplane. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                      A Quadruple Alignment over Italy
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Valerio Minato

   Explanation: Why does this Moon look so unusual? A key reason is its
   vivid red color. The color is caused by the deflection of blue light by
   Earth's atmosphere -- the same reason that the daytime sky appears
   blue. The Moon also appears unusually distorted. Its strange
   structuring is an optical effect arising from layers in the Earth's
   atmosphere that refract light differently due to sudden differences in
   temperature or pressure. A third reason the Moon looks so unusual is
   that there is, by chance, an airplane flying in front. The featured
   picturesque gibbous Moon was captured about two weeks ago above Turin,
   Italy. Our familiar hovering sky orb was part of an unusual quadruple
   alignment that included two historic ground structures: the Sacra di
   San Michele on the near hill and Basilica of Superga just beyond.

      Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your friend's
                            birthday? (post 1995)
                      Tomorrow's picture: star sisters
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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