                        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 July 12

                         Clouds and the Golden Moon
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Alexsandro Mota

   Explanation: As the Sun set, a bright Full Moon rose on July 10. Its
   golden light illuminates clouds drifting through southern hemisphere
   skies in this well-composed telephoto image from Conceição do Coité,
   Bahia, Brazil. The brightest lunar phase is captured here with both a
   short and long exposure. The two exposures were combined to reveal
   details of the lunar surface in bright moonlight and a subtle
   iridescence along the dramatically backlit cloudscape. Of course,
   July's Full Moon is a winter moon in the southern hemisphere. But in
   the north it's known to some as the Thunder Moon, likely a nod to the
   sounds of this northern summer month's typically stormy weather.

                      Tomorrow's picture: ants in space
     __________________________________________________________________

       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.

