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APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

A True Image from False Kiva

Explanation: Is there any place in the world you could see a sight like this? Yes! This digital mosaic shows the night sky as seen from False Kiva in Canyonlands National Park , eastern Utah, USA. Diving into the Earth far in the distance is part of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy . Much closer, the planet Jupiter is visible as the bright point just to band's left. Closer still are the park's picture sque buttes and mesas lit by a crescent moon. In the foreground is the cave housing a stone circle of unknown origin named False Kiva . The cave itself was briefly lit by flashlight during the exposure. Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka reports that getting to the cave was no easy trek . Also, mountain lions were a concern while waiting alone in the dark to record the mosaic.

Date September 29, 2008
Credit Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka ( TWAN )
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.