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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.

The Milky Way Over the Peak of the Furnace

Explanation: On Reunion Island , it is known simply as “The Volcano.” To others, it is known as the Piton de la Fournaise , which is French for the Peak of the Furnace. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The Volcano started a new eruption last month by spewing hot lava bombs as high as 10 meters into the air from several vents. Pictured above , the recent eruption was caught before a star filled southern sky, appearing somehow contained beneath the arching band of our Milky Way Galaxy . Also visible in the background sky is the Pleiades open star cluster , the constellation of Orion , the brightest star Sirius , and the neighboring Large and Small Magellanic Cloud galaxies . (Can you find them ?) The Piton de la Fournaise erupted for months in 2006, and for days in 2007, 2008, and in January of 2010 . Nobody knows how long the current eruption will last, or when The Volcano will erupt next.

Date November 1, 2010
Credit Credit & Copyright: Luc Perrot
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.