Astronomy Picture of the Day—20190222

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 February 22

Fromthe Northern to the Southern Cross

ImageCredit & Copyright: Nicholas Buer

Explanation:There is a road that connects the Northern to the Southern Cross but you haveto be at the right place and time to see it. The road, as pictured here, isactually the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy; the right place, in thiscase, is dark Laguna Cejar in Salar de Atacama of Northern Chile; and the righttime was in early October, just after sunset. Many sky wonders were capturedthen, including the bright Moon, inside the Milky Way arch; Venus, just abovethe Moon; Saturn and Mercury, just below the Moon; the Large and SmallMagellanic Clouds satellite galaxies, on the far left; red airglow near thehorizon on the image left; and the lights of small towns at several locationsacross the horizon. One might guess that composing this 30-image panorama wouldhave been a serene experience, but for that one would have required earplugs toignore the continued brays of wild donkeys.

从北十字到南十字

解释：有一条连接北十字到南十字的“小路”，但你不得不处于正确的地方和时间才能看到它。图中这条“小路”实际上是银河系的中心环；正确的地方是智利北部阿塔卡马沙漠中的赛加湖；正确的时间是十月初的日落后。这里可以捕捉到许多天空奇观，包括银河拱形里面的月亮；月亮上方的金星；还有月亮下方的土星和水星；最左面的卫星星系是大小麦哲伦云；影像左面的地平线附近可见红色气辉；地平线上还有来个多个小镇的灯光。