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Credit: Nico Housen,
European Southern Observatory
Explanation:
On clear, moonless nights, the stars still come out with a
vengance above the high-altitude
La Silla
astronomical observatory.
Taking advantage of a recent visit to this first
European Southern Observatory
(ESO) site
constructed
on a mountain top in Chile, ESO software engineer Nico Housen
recorded this stunning sky view.
Difficult to see from
light polluted areas,
faint stars and dark
dust clouds along the plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy arc across
the gorgeous photo.
In the foreground lies the highly polished 15-meter diameter dish
antenna of the Swedish-ESO
Submillimeter Telescope
(now decommissioned).
Beyond it, silhouetted by starlight, is
the dome of one of La Silla's large optical instruments, a
3.6 meter
telescope.
Dramatically
reflected in the
focusing, mirror-like surface of
the dish, the vista behind the photographer
appears inverted,
with the dark horizon hanging above the Milky Way and
the starry night.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Observatory - Milky Way - telescope
Publications with words: Observatory - Milky Way - telescope
See also: