Wonders for the new year

One of the most reliable ways to regain perspective when feeling overwhelmed or uncertain, feeling blah, or just when a few extra minutes pop up is to check out APOD, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. The image featured here is from Dec 28, 2021, a short video titled Sun Halo over Sweden. It’s pretty amazing and a good way to start this new year.

It’s only one of hundreds and hundreds of images compiled, one a day, since 1995 by two gamma ray astronomers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. They draw from NASA images, from the Hubble Space Telescope, from observatories, and increasingly – with the ready availability of technology – from amateur astrophotographers. The site has been translated into 20 languages and has a large following, with over 1 million visits to the site each day.

What you get is the image of the day with a brief description and links to the archive, educational resources, and different ways to find something specific – an index, by calendar date, or by a keyword search box.

Check it out. Be prepared to expand your awareness of the natural world and of the universe.

Dec 2023 update
Here’s another photo of the same phenomenon, sun or ice halos, this time around a snowy Bavarian church. You can hover over the various parts of the halo to get more information.