by APOD Robot » Mon May 09, 2011 4:06 am
Wonder and Mystery above the Very Large Telescopes
Explanation: What's that bright orange dot above the large telescope on the right? Even seasoned sky enthusiasts might
ponder the origin of the orange orb seen by
scrolling across
this panoramic image, taken last December. Perhaps identifying known objects will help. To start, on the far left is a diagonal band of light known as
zodiacal light, sunlight reflected off of dust orbiting in the inner Solar System. The bright white spot on the left, just above the horizon, is
Venus, which also glows by reflected sunlight. Rising diagonally from the ground to the right of Venus is the band of our
Milky Way Galaxy. In the image, the band, which usually
stretches dramatically overhead, appears to arch above the elevated
Chilean landscape. Under the Milky Way arch, toward the left, lie both the
Large and Small
Magellanic Cloud galaxies, while toward the right lies the constellation of Orion surrounded by the red ring of
Barnard's Loop. On the ground, each of the four
Very Large Telescopes is busy keeping an eye on the distant universe. The orange spot -- it's the Moon. The image was taken during a
total lunar eclipse when the normally bright full moon turned into a faint
orb tinted orange by the intervening Earth's atmosphere.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110509.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_110509.jpg[/img] [size=150]Wonder and Mystery above the Very Large Telescopes[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] What's that bright orange dot above the large telescope on the right? Even seasoned sky enthusiasts might [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101213.html]ponder[/url] the origin of the orange orb seen by [url=http://blogs.families.com/media/catncompuermouse.jpg]scrolling[/url] across [url=http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1119a/]this panoramic image[/url], taken last December. Perhaps identifying known objects will help. To start, on the far left is a diagonal band of light known as [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light]zodiacal light[/url], sunlight reflected off of dust orbiting in the inner Solar System. The bright white spot on the left, just above the horizon, is [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101020.html]Venus[/url], which also glows by reflected sunlight. Rising diagonally from the ground to the right of Venus is the band of our [url=http://casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/public/tutorial/MW.html]Milky Way Galaxy[/url]. In the image, the band, which usually [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj8n_95_yNc]stretches dramatically[/url] overhead, appears to arch above the elevated [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile]Chile[/url]an landscape. Under the Milky Way arch, toward the left, lie both the [url=http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/lmc.html]Large[/url] and Small [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellanic_Clouds]Magellanic Cloud[/url] galaxies, while toward the right lies the constellation of Orion surrounded by the red ring of [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101023.html]Barnard's Loop[/url]. On the ground, each of the four [url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt.html]Very Large Telescopes[/url] is busy keeping an eye on the distant universe. The orange spot -- it's the Moon. The image was taken during a [url=http://www.universetoday.com/81716/total-lunar-eclipse-december-21-2010/]total lunar eclipse[/url] when the normally bright full moon turned into a faint [url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/13feb_lunareclipse/]orb tinted orange[/url] by the intervening Earth's atmosphere.
[b][table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=110508]<< Previous APOD[/url][/td][td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewforum.php?f=9]Discuss Any APOD[/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=110510]Next APOD >>[/url][/td][/tr][/table][/b]