Gorgeous panorama of the Milky Way arcing over the Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna) in Chile, by Rafael Defavari.

(click image for larger version.)


2014 December 5

Milky Way over Moon Valley

Image Credit and Copyright: Rafael Defavari

Explanation:

Our Milky Way Galaxy arcs over a desolate landscape in this fantastic panoramic night skyview.

The otherworldly scene looks across the arid, eroded terrain of the Valle de la Luna in the Chilean Atacama desert.

Just along the horizon are lights from San Pedro, Chile, as well as the small villages of Socaire and Toconao, and a tortuous road from the city of Calama to San Pedro.

Taken on October 18th, the five panel mosaic also features the four galaxies easily visible from our fair planet’s dark sky regions. At the far left, satellite galaxies known as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are framed by their terrestrial namesakes. Much fainter and at the right, beyond the Milky Way’s central bulge, is the Andromeda Galaxy.

The most distant in view, Andromeda lies some 2.5 million light-years away.