The Milky Way Sets
Explanation:
Under dark skies the
setting of the Milky Way can be a dramatic sight.
Stretching nearly parallel to the horizon, this rich,
edge-on vista
of our galaxy above the dusty Namibian desert stretches from
bright, southern
Centaurus (left) to
Cepheus in the north (right).
From early August, the digitally stitched, panoramic night skyscape
captures the Milky Way's congeries of stars and rivers of cosmic dust,
along with colors of nebulae not readily seen with the eye.
Mars, Saturn, and Antares, visible even in more luminous night
skies, form the the bright celestial
triangle just touching the trees
below the galaxy's central bulge.
Of course, our own galaxy is not the only galaxy in the scene.
Two other major members of our local group,
the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy,
lie near the right edge of the frame, beyond the
arc of the setting
Milky Way.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
