                        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.

                                 2024 May 29
    A star filled sky shows the arch of the central band of our Milky Way
      galaxy across the top of the image. In the foreground is a rocky
   landscape with a hill ahead and a pathway that leads to stairs up that
       hill. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                          Stairway to the Milky Way
                Image Credit & Copyright: Marcin Rosadziński

   Explanation: What happens if you ascend this stairway to the Milky Way?
   Before answering that, let's understand the beautiful sky you will see.
   Most eye-catching is the grand arch of the Milky Way Galaxy, the band
   that is the central disk of our galaxy which is straight but distorted
   by the wide-angle nature of this composite image. Many stars well in
   front of the Milk Way will be visible, with the bright white star just
   below the stellar arch being Altair, and the bright blue star above it
   being Vega. The air glows green on the left, just above the yellow
   cloud deck. The featured image was taken last month on Portugal's
   Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean. Oh, and what happens after
   you reach the top of these stairs and admire the amazing sky is, quite
   probably, that you then descend down the stairs on the other side.

     Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                       Tomorrow's picture: tower moon
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

