November 29, 2012

Meteor and Moonbow over Wallaman Falls

Milky Way Galaxy Wallaman Falls

Which feature takes your breath away first in this encompassing panorama of land and sky? The competition is strong with a waterfall, meteor, starfield, and even a moonbow all vying for attention. It is interesting to first note, though, what can't be seen -- a rising moon on the other side of the camera. The bright moon not only illuminated this beautiful landscape in Queensland, Australia in June 2011, but also created the beautiful moonbow seen in front of Wallaman Falls. Just above the ridge in this image is the horizontal streak of an airplane. Toward the top of the frame is the downward streak of a bright meteor, a small pebble from across our Solar System that lit up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Well behind the meteor are numerous bright stars and nebula seen toward the center of our Galaxy. Finally, far in the background, is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, running diagonally from the lower left to the upper right in the image but also circling the entire sky.

Image Credit & Copyright: Thierry Legault
Explanation from: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121112.html

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