Posted on 07/29/2011 9:53:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: A quest to find planet Earth's darkest night skies led to this intriguing panorama. In projection, the mosaic view sandwiches the horizons visible in all-sky images taken from the northern hemisphere's Canary Island of La Palma (top) and the south's high Atacama Desert between the two hemispheres of the Milky Way Galaxy. The photographers' choice of locations offered locally dark skies enjoyed by La Palma's Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and Paranal Observatory in Chile. But it also allowed the directions to the Milky Way's north and south galactic poles to be placed near the local zenith. That constrained the faint, diffuse glow of the plane of the Milky Way to the mountainous horizons. As a result, an even fainter S-shaped band of light, sunlight scattered by dust along the solar system's ecliptic plane, can be completely traced through both northern and southern hemisphere night skies.
[Credit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel and Stéphane Guisard (TWAN)]
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It’s a sign....
It means... vote for Sarah!
These panoramas are always difficult to view. In the north, I can see the big dipper most easily, on the left, then looking along the arc of the zodical light I can see Scorpius at bottom center, then Virgo, Leo, and Castor and Pollux of Gemini, at lower right. Then Vega in Lyra center left.
To view the southern half I flipped it using MS Paint. The large and small Magellanic clouds are prominent, and above them is the star Achernar, and to the left Canopus. Below the arch of the Zodiacal band is the Andromeda Nebula, and I believe the bright smudge at the top of the band is Jupiter. I think I see Aldeberan in Taurus along with the Pleaides, but this region is rather indistinct.
Just goes to show. Everything is based on the sine wave...
Oooooooooooo...NICE!
Sine, sine, everywhere a sine...
Very good! Thanks for the laugh.
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