A starry sky is seen through a rectangular rock opening. Three rocky peaks appear toward the right, while other peaks appear toward the left. Rising above the right peaks is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
透过一块矩形的岩石缝隙，可以看到满天的繁星。右侧有三尖峰，左侧则有其他山峰。右侧山峰上方是银河系的中央盘面。有关更多详细信息，请参阅说明。
2023年11月13日 Andromeda over the Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Dzmitry Kananovich Explanation: Have you ever seen the Andromeda galaxy? Although M31 appears as a faint and fuzzy blob to the unaided eye, the light you see will be over two million years old, making it likely the oldest light you ever will see directly. The featured image captured Andromeda just before it set behind the Swiss Alps early last year. As cool as it may be to see this neighboring galaxy to our Milky Way with your own eyes, long duration camera exposures can pick up many faint and breathtaking details. The image is composite of foreground and background images taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location. Recent data indicate that…
2023年7月16日 Meteor and Milky Way over the Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Nicholas Roemmelt (Venture Photography) Explanation: Now this was a view with a thrill. From Mount Tschirgant in the Alps, you can see not only nearby towns and distant Tyrolean peaks, but also, weather permitting, stars, nebulas, and the band of the Milky Way Galaxy. What made the arduous climb worthwhile this night, though, was another peak — the peak of the 2018 Perseids Meteor Shower. As hoped, dispersing clouds allowed a picturesque sky-gazing session that included many faint meteors, all while a carefully positioned camera took a series of exposures. Suddenly, a thrilling meteor — bright and colorful — slashed down right next to the nearly vertical band of the Milky Way. As…
2022年5月16日 Milky Way over French Alp Hoodoos Image Credit & Copyright: Benjamin Barakat Explanation: Real castles aren’t this old. And the background galaxy is even older. Looking a bit like an alien castle, the pictured rock spires are called hoodoos and are likely millions of years old. Rare, but found around the world, hoodoos form when dense rocks slow the erosion of softer rock underneath. The pictured hoodoos survive in the French Alps and are named Demoiselles Coiffées — which translates to English as “Ladies with Hairdos”. The background galaxy is part of the central disk of our own Milky Way galaxy and contains stars that are typically billions of years old. The photogenic Cygnus sky region — rich in dusty dark clouds and red…
2020年7月15日 Comet NEOWISE over the Swiss Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Philipp Salzgeber, foto-webcam.eu; Text: Adam Block Explanation: Comet NEOWISE has been wowing photographers around much of the world during dawn and dusk, at the margins of day and night. For the most northern residents of planet Earth, however, the comet circles the North Star and never sets. The night part of this circular arc is apparent in the featured composite of images assembled from a webcam located at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps. Images were selected at 30-minute intervals throughout the night from July 12th -13th. Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) will continue to become more accessible to northern hemisphere observers as its motion places it higher in the sky each evening after…
2019 September 2 The Moon and Jupiter over the Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer (Cortina Astronomical Association) Explanation: What are those bright lights in the sky ahead? When hiking a high mountain pass in northern Italy three weeks ago, a conjunction between our Moon and the distant planet Jupiter was visible as both rose together in the southwest after sunset. The picturesque mountains in the distance are Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Three Peaks of Lavaredo), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and three of the best known mountain peaks in Italy, the Dolomites, and the entire Alps. In the foreground on the left is Locatelli Hut, a refuge for tired hikers as it is located over an hour from nearest parking lot. The bright…
