APOD: Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica (2023 Jul 02)

[APOD Robot]

Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica

Explanation: It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At China's Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, just before the end of this polar night. Pointing up, the wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures. In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the night sky, including Sirius and Canopus. Far in the background, stretching overhead from horizon to horizon, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible as extended smudges near the top, are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies near our huge Milky Way Galaxy.

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[RocketRon]

>>>people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky.

It was certainly that !
Few of us will ever be down there, so Thank You.

[VictorBorun]

are M24 and Large Sgr there ?

[Ann]

are M24 and Large Sgr there ?

Here you are. But I wasn't able to find Sirius.

Ann

[VictorBorun]

are M24 and Large Sgr there ?

APOD 2 July 2023 lower part annotated.png

APOD 2 July 2023 upper part annotated.png

Here you are. But I wasn't able to find Sirius.

Ann

is this dust cloud blocking our view of the other edge of Milky Way's core, opposite to Large Saggitarious Star Cloud?

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

...

[Ann]

are M24 and Large Sgr there ?

APOD 2 July 2023 lower part annotated.png

APOD 2 July 2023 upper part annotated.png

Here you are. But I wasn't able to find Sirius.

Ann

is this dust cloud blocking our view of the other edge of Milky Way's core, opposite to Large Saggitarious Star Cloud?

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica.jpg

...

I guess you could say that it is that dust cloud that is blocking our view of the bulge and core of the Milky Way. But really, it is the long thick central dust lane that is blocking our view of the bulge and core of the Milky Way.

Consider these pictures of edge-on galaxies NGC 891 and NGC 4565:

We can see the core of galaxy NGC 4565, because the core is just peeking out on one side of the central dust lane. Image: Subaru Telescope.

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Edge-on galaxy NGC 891. We can't see the core of this galaxy, because it is hidden behind the galaxy's central dust lane. Credit: Adam Block.

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Ann

[Cousin Ricky]

Here you are. But I wasn't able to find Sirius.

The tail end of Canis Major is at the extreme upper left of the photo, so no, Sirius is not in the frame.

[Weedpicker]

Photo is gorgeous, but I am puzzled by the very top of it as it appears to be landscape above the cut of the aurora. Just can't figure out how the photo would have been taken to include that.

[Chris Peterson]

Photo is gorgeous, but I am puzzled by the very top of it as it appears to be landscape above the cut of the aurora. Just can't figure out how the photo would have been taken to include that.

It's just an ordinary panorama, but one taken vertically instead of horizontally. Which we're not used to seeing! Imagine printing this out on a huge piece of paper, maybe 5 meters long. Now make that into a semicircular arch and sit inside it. That's what you're seeing here. You can make an image like this by taking a sequence of pictures, from the horizon in front of you, then upwards, through the zenith, and back down to the horizon behind you, then stitching them together as a mosaic.

[VictorBorun]

Photo is gorgeous, but I am puzzled by the very top of it as it appears to be landscape above the cut of the aurora. Just can't figure out how the photo would have been taken to include that.

It's just an ordinary panorama, but one taken vertically instead of horizontally. Which we're not used to seeing! Imagine printing this out on a huge piece of paper, maybe 5 meters long. Now make that into a semicircular arch and sit inside it. That's what you're seeing here. You can make an image like this by taking a sequence of pictures, from the horizon in front of you, then upwards, through the zenith, and back down to the horizon behind you, then stitching them together as a mosaic.

here Milky Way is a straight line rather than an arc. I find it nice

[Chris Peterson]

Photo is gorgeous, but I am puzzled by the very top of it as it appears to be landscape above the cut of the aurora. Just can't figure out how the photo would have been taken to include that.

It's just an ordinary panorama, but one taken vertically instead of horizontally. Which we're not used to seeing! Imagine printing this out on a huge piece of paper, maybe 5 meters long. Now make that into a semicircular arch and sit inside it. That's what you're seeing here. You can make an image like this by taking a sequence of pictures, from the horizon in front of you, then upwards, through the zenith, and back down to the horizon behind you, then stitching them together as a mosaic.

here Milky Way is a straight line rather than an arc. I find it nice

You get a choice with a flat image. A curved Milky Way and a straight horizon, or a curved horizon and a straight Milky Way.