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Credit & Copyright: Maxime Oudoux
Explanation:
There is a huge gate of stars in the sky, and you pass through it twice a day.
The stargate is actually our
Milky Way Galaxy, and it is the spin of the Earth that appears to propel you
through it.
More typically, the
central band of our
Milky Way appears as a faint band stretching across the sky,
only visible in away from
bright city lights.
In a long-exposure wide-angle image from a
dark location
like this, though, the Milky Way's central plane is
easily visible.
The featured picture
is a digital composite involving multiple exposures
taken on the same night and with the same camera, but employing a
stereographic projection
that causes the Milky Way to appear as a
giant circular portal.
Inside the
stargate-like arc of
our Galaxy
is a faint stripe called
zodiacal light -- sunlight reflected by
dust in our
Solar System.
In the foreground are
cacti
and dry rocks found in the rough terrain of the high desert of
Chile, not far from the
El
Sauce
Observatory and the developing
Vera Rubin Observatory, the latter expected to
begin routine operations in 2024.
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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: 2025 July 2 Á Milky Way Through Otago Spires
- APOD: 2025 May 20 Á Milky Way over Maunakea
- APOD: 2025 May 13 Á Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 May 12 Á Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy
- Galaxies in Space
- APOD: 2025 February 9 Á Milky Way over the Australian Pinnacles
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy