Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

sl8

(13,584 posts)
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 10:42 AM Feb 2020

Mid-Air Meteor and Milky Way

From https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191010.html



Mid-Air Meteor and Milky Way

Image Credit & Copyright: Eric Wagner

Explanation: On September 24, a late evening commercial flight from Singapore to Australia offered stratospheric views of the southern hemisphere's night sky, if you chose a window seat. In fact, a well-planned seating choice with a window facing toward the Milky Way allowed the set up of a sensitive digital camera on a tripod mount to record the galaxy's central bulge in a series of 10 second long exposures. By chance, one of the exposures caught this bright fireball meteor in the starry frame. Reflected along the wing of the A380 aircraft, the brilliant greenish streak is also internally reflected in the double layer window, producing a fainter parallel to the original meteor track. In the southern sky Jupiter is the bright source beneath the galactic bulge and seen next to a green beacon, just off the wing tip.







From the photographer's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ericwagnerphoto/?hl=en


Whenever I'm flying I do my best to get a seat facing the Milky Way. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I recently flew and the entire time we chased sunset and it was never dark enough to capture the Milky Way. Last night however, I was flying from Singapore to Australia. I set up my tripod and started shooting. It is the first time I was able to capture a shot of the Milky Way from a plane in the Southern Hemisphere.

I had already gotten some decent shots to work with so I started shooting a series of 10 second exposures to work into a stacked photo. I was treated to a magnificent sight though as I shot. I'll let the photo speak for itself. The stars could have been a little sharper as there was slightly bouncing during the shot but overall I just love the shot.

Canon 5D4
Sigma 14mm f1.8
ISO6400
10 second single image

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Mid-Air Meteor and Milky Way (Original Post) sl8 Feb 2020 OP
Spectacular! Fla Dem Feb 2020 #1
What does "get a seat facing the Milky Way" mean??? DonaldsRump Feb 2020 #2
He means tthe center of the Milky Way Cirque du So-What Feb 2020 #3
Shorthand for facing the center of the Milky Way, I think. sl8 Feb 2020 #4
Thanks, both DonaldsRump Feb 2020 #5
I come to the same realization often. sl8 Feb 2020 #6

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
2. What does "get a seat facing the Milky Way" mean???
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 11:06 AM
Feb 2020

I thought we are IN the Milky Way galaxy, so we would always be "facing" it?

Anyways, all this talk is making me hanker for a candy bar for some strange reason...

on edit: oh, yes, the pic is out of this world! Well done.

Cirque du So-What

(25,812 posts)
3. He means tthe center of the Milky Way
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 11:13 AM
Feb 2020

Our solar system is located in an outer spiral arm of the galaxy. What we see and refer to as the Milky Way is the creamy, nougat-filled galactic center.

sl8

(13,584 posts)
4. Shorthand for facing the center of the Milky Way, I think.
Tue Feb 25, 2020, 11:19 AM
Feb 2020

Since we're on the outer edge, to get a good view of most(?) of the galaxy, we would face the center. Image if you were on the edge of a large disk and wanted see see as much if the rest of the disk as possible. In addition, since the Earth is revolving, the relative direction will constantly vary for an observer on the surface of the Earth. At least, that's my not particularly knowledgeable take on it.

This blog entry describes it much better than I :

https://darksitefinder.com/how-to-see-the-milky-way/
How To See the Milky Way

sl8

(13,584 posts)
6. I come to the same realization often.
Wed Feb 26, 2020, 06:56 AM
Feb 2020

About me being dumber than I thought, not you.

I think it's partly the breadth of knowledge out there and partly getting older.



Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»Mid-Air Meteor and Milky ...