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The Milky Way, Grand Tetons and Big Dipper
Provided by:
Wally Pacholka,
Earth Science Picture of the Day for July 5, 2008
| The photo above shows a breathtaking panoramic view of the
night sky over the Grand Tetons of Wyoming. It was taken in July
of 2007, as the Milky Way and Jupiter set in the western sky. I
was in the Tetons because of my association with The World at
Night (TWAN), a group of astrophotographers dedicated to sharing
the night sky of key world landmark sites in the spirit of
international friendship. The bright first magnitude star
Arcturus (aka Alpha Boötis) is at center, just above the
silhouetted mountain tops, while the Big Dipper is in the
northern sky at bottom right. Note that the handle of the Dipper
points to Arcturus. The Big Dipper is also known as The Great
Bear. The word Arcturus is from the Greek for "bear
guard". This shot covers almost the entire sky and was
achieved by taking six side by side photos, seconds apart. Each
photograph includes about 30 degrees of earth and sky stitched
together by a photo lab. |
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