We all know that the Sun and the Moon cast shadows. But can the Milky Way itself be bright enough to do the same? In extremely dark locations, the answer is yes.
This panorama was captured during the San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Star Tour in northern Chile. On the image you can clearly see shadows of the trees cast only by the Milky Way — something that is possible only under the darkest skies on Earth.
According to the Bortle Scale of night-sky brightness, this region rates as a Class 1 – Excellent Dark-Sky Site. Here, the Scorpius–Sagittarius region of the Milky Way is so bright that it produces detectable diffuse shadows on the ground. It is an extremely rare and unforgettable sight.
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| Milky Way Casting Shadows - Chile Astrophotography - San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Star Tour |
Near the horizon, green and red airglow is visible — a natural atmospheric luminescence often seen in extremely dark locations. The brightest “star” in the middle of the panorama is actually Jupiter.
Technical details:
Canon 60Da • EF16–35mm f/2.8L II USM • 25 sec • f/2.8 • ISO 6400
Panorama of 20 photos.
A slightly different version of this image was selected as the Dark Sky Travels Magazine – Image of the Day (17 November 2019).
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| Dark Sky Travels Magazine Image of the Day |
This photograph was captured in the Atacama Desert, Chile—one of the premier astrophotography locations on the planet. Many of the world’s leading observatories operate here (the other major hub is Hawai‘i’s Mauna Kea).
The image was taken near a small oasis where a few trees are present. It is astonishing to stand in near-total natural darkness and see shadows cast not by any artificial light, but by the bright central bulge of the Milky Way and the planet Jupiter.
This is what a true Bortle Class 1 sky looks like — the very definition of a perfect dark-sky environment.
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- A Tree and the Milky Way — Bethel, New York
- Milky Way Rainbow Panorama — Canon EOS Ra, Bethel Catskills, New York
- Arching Milky Way over Arches National Park — Utah Astrophotography
- Cherry Springs State Park — One of the Darkest Skies on the U.S. East Coast
- Adirondack Public Observatory — Dark Skies in Upstate New York
- Hawaii Lunar Eclipse (Jan 20, 2019) — Mauna Kea Night Sky
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