﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2022 August 17 [2]The featured image shows a circular ring of stars that is a projection of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. In the foreground are rocks and cacti from the high desert in Chile. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Stargate Milky Way Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Maxime Oudoux Explanation: There is a huge gate of stars in the sky, and you pass through it twice a day. The stargate is actually our [4]Milky Way Galaxy, and it is the spin of the Earth that appears to propel you through it. More typically, the [5]central band of our [6]Milky Way appears as a faint band stretching across the sky, only visible in away from [7]bright city lights. In a long-exposure wide-angle image from a [8]dark location like this, though, the Milky Way's central plane is [9]easily visible. The [10]featured picture is a digital composite involving multiple exposures taken on the same night and with the same camera, but employing a [11]stereographic projection that causes the Milky Way to appear as a [12]giant circular portal. Inside the [13]stargate-like arc of [14]our Galaxy is a faint stripe called [15]zodiacal light -- sunlight reflected by [16]dust in our [17]Solar System. In the foreground are [18]cacti and dry rocks found in the rough terrain of the high desert of [19]Chile, not far from the [20]El Sauce [21]Observatory and the developing [22]Vera Rubin Observatory, the latter expected to [23]begin routine operations in 2024. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2208/StargateMilkyWay_Oudoux_1800.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/max_oudoux/ 4. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110710.html 6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200408.html 8. https://www.darksky.org/ 9. https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/the-surprised-cat-the-amazement-of-the-cat-open-your-mouth-in-an-picture-id1240888678?b=1&k=20&m=1240888678&s=170667a&w=0&h=u8E2IgJ5pPaRZLTUFokOoIXy1F9nULJT4_yU5xM7rew= 10. https://www.instagram.com/p/CgUo5ZOM4eC/ 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereographic_map_projection 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140729.html 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate#/media/File:Sg1stargatefront.jpg 14. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200309.html 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust 17. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/overview/ 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile 20. https://help.telescope.live/hc/en-us/articles/360002577798-El-Sauce-Observatory-Chile-CHI- 21. https://youtu.be/S4rFdr2Qmjk 22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_C._Rubin_Observatory 23. https://www.lsst.org/about/timeline 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220816.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220817 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220818.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 45. http://www.mtu.edu/