Friday, September 14, 2012

APOD 1.3

This panoramic photograph shows some of the wonders of the earth and the sky. The Bungle Bungles in Western Australia are the product of years of sandstone, rock, and sediment, shaped by wind and rain erosion.  In the sky, one can clearly see the band of the Milky Way, which is the disk in the spiral-shapped galaxy where the brightest stars and our sun are. In this band are star clusters, emission nebulae, reflective nebulae, dust, and dark matter.  Surprisingly, astronomers say that this amazing sight is visible almost anywhere, as long as it is a clear night away from city lights. In adequate darkness away from urban lights, a bright strip of sky marks the shape of the galaxy within which the Earth exists. However, due to the great amount of light pollution that is now threatening dark star-gazing skies, many areas of Europe and the United States no longer have the opportunity to experience such an amazing view of something thousands of light years away from us.

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