Stargate Milky Way

Explanation: There is a huge gate of stars in the sky, and you pass through it twice a day. The stargate is actually our Milky Way Galaxy , and it is the spin of the Earth that appears to propel you through it. More typically, the central band of our Milky Way appears as a faint band stretching across the sky, only visible in away from bright city lights . In a long-exposure wide-angle image from a dark location like this, though, the Milky Way's central plane is easily visible . The featured picture is a digital composite involving multiple exposures taken on the same night and with the same camera, but employing a stereographic projection that causes the Milky Way to appear as a giant circular portal . Inside the stargate-like arc of our Galaxy is a faint stripe called zodiacal light -- sunlight reflected by dust in our Solar System . In the foreground are cacti and dry rocks found in the rough terrain of the high desert of Chile , not far from the El Sauce Observatory and the developing Vera Rubin Observatory , the latter expected to begin routine operations in 2024.