Credit & Copyright: Alexandros Maragos;
Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt
Explanation:
What's that glowing in the distance?
Although it may look like a
lighthouse, the rays of light near the horizon actually
emanate from the
Temple of Poseidon
at
Cape Sounion,
Greece.
Some temple
lights are even reflected in the
Aegean Sea in the foreground.
Although meant to be a monument to the sea, in this image,
the temple's lights seem to be pointing out locations
on the sky.
For example, the wide ray toward the right fortuitously points toward the
Lagoon Nebula in the central band of our
Milky Way, which runs diagonally down the image from the upper left.
Also, the nearly vertical beam seems to point toward the star clouds near the direction
of the
Wild Duck open cluster of stars.
The featured image was taken less than three weeks ago.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: Milky Way
Publications with words: Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 29 Á Milky Way over Uluru
- APOD: 2024 May 29 Á Stairway to the Milky Way
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway
- Milky Way Rising