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Credit & Copyright: Shane Black Photography;
Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt
Explanation:
What if you could stand at the top of a volcano and peer out across the universe?
It the timing is right, you might see an amazing panorama like the one
featured here.
In this case, the volcano is the Hawaii's
Mauna
Kea, and the time was a clear night last summer
In the foreground of this south-facing panorama lies a
rugged landscape dotted
with rocks and
hardy plants.
Slightly above and further out, a
white
blanket of clouds spreads horizontally to the horizon, seemingly dividing heaven
and Earth.
City lights illuminate the clouds and sky on the far left, while orange lava in the
volcanic caldera of
Kilauea lights up the clouds
just left of center.
The summit of an even more distant Hawaiian volcano,
Mauna Loa, is visible in dark
silhouette near the central horizon.
Green airglow is visible above the clouds, caused by air
molecules excited by the Sun during
the day.
The Moon is the bright orb on the right.
A diffuse band of light-colored
zodiacal light extends up from the far right.
Most distant, the dramatic
central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy
appears to rise vertically from Mauna Loa.
The person who witnessed and captured
this breathtaking panorama stands before you in the image center.
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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: Mauna Kea - night sky
Publications with words: Mauna Kea - night sky
See also: