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Credit & Copyright: Joy Pollard
(Gemini Observatory)
Explanation:
It does look like a flying saucer, but this
technologically advanced
structure is not here to deliver the wise extraterrestrial
from the scifi classic movie
The
Day the Earth Stood Still.
It is here to advance our knowledge of the Universe though.
Shown sitting near the top of a mountain in Hawaii, the dome of the
Gemini Observatory North
houses one of two identical 8.1-meter diameter telescopes.
Used with its southern hemisphere twin observatory in Chile,
the two can access the entire sky from planet Earth.
Constructed
from 85 exposures lasting 30 seconds each with camera
fixed to a tripod, the image also clearly demonstrates that
the Earth did not stand still.
Adjusted to be slighter brighter at the ends of their arcs, the concentric
star trails centered on the North Celestial Pole are a reflection
of Earth's rotation around its axis.
Close to the horizon at Hawaiian latitdues,
Polaris, the North Star,
makes the shortest star trail.
The fainter denser forest of star trails toward the right are in the
rising Milky Way.
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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: Observatory
Publications with words: Observatory
See also: