                        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.

                                 2021 May 11

                      Lightning and Orion Beyond Uluru
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Park Liu

   Explanation: What's happening behind Uluru? A United Nations World
   Heritage Site, Uluru is an extraordinary 350-meter high mountain in
   central Australia that rises sharply from nearly flat surroundings.
   Composed of sandstone, Uluru has slowly formed over the past 300
   million years as softer rock eroded away. In the background of the
   featured image taken in mid-May, a raging thunderstorm is visible. Far
   behind both Uluru and the thunderstorm is a star-filled sky highlighted
   by the constellation of Orion. The Uluru region has been a home to
   humans for over 22,000 years. Local indigenous people have long noted
   that when the stars that compose the modern constellation of Orion
   first appear in the night sky, a hot season involving lightning storms
   will soon be arriving.

                       Tomorrow's picture: star spasms
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

