File:Zodiacal Light over GTC Observatory (ann22042o).jpg
Original file (1,607 × 2,200 pixels, file size: 837 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionZodiacal Light over GTC Observatory (ann22042o).jpg |
English: Image title: Zodiacal Light over GTC Observatory Author: Amirreza Kamkar Country: GermanyTaken from La Palma, Canary Islands, in May 2022, this image captures the Zodiacal light, three prominent constellations (Gemini, Cancer and Auriga), and the Beehive Cluster, which appears as a small nebulosity to the unaided eye under dark skies. The Zodiacal light is a triangular white glow stretching along the ecliptic that is visible here at the western horizon shortly after sunset.The Canary Islands were considered the westernmost land of the inhabited world by the ancient Greeks. The dim shimmer in the Zodiac might have inspired the Greek philosopher Plato to think that the Sun leaves a trace of sunny glitter in its wake, and that the current path of the Sun, the ecliptic, has not always been its path. Plato believed that the Milky Way was a former path of the Sun and that its bright clouds are sparks of the Sun’s glory left behind. Today, we know that these two phenomena in the sky have different causes; while the Zodiacal light is really caused by reflection of sunlight from very tiny dust particles in the plane of the ecliptic, the Milky Way consists of billions of stars. The Zodiacal light is a smooth cone of light from the horizon upwards, while the Milky Way crosses the whole sky and also includes dark clouds.The Zodiac is described by Indigenous Australians as the Dreaming Road, and the Zodiacal light is a celestial rope connecting Venus to the Sun. The two bright stars in the top-left of the image are Castor (the bluish star) and Pollux (the whitish star), which are part of the constellation Gemini, the Twins. The two bright stars towards the bottom-right of the image are Menkalinan (the dimmer one) and Capella (the brighter one), which are part of the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer.The Wergaia people of Western Victoria in Australia see Castor and Pollux as brothers who hunt the kangaroo Purra in their stories. This has coincidental similarities to the Babylonian story, where they are considered two strong gods of the Netherworld, depicted with weapons. The Greco-Roman myth of the twins describes them as two brothers who accompanied the first ocean sailor, Jason, on voyages with the The Ship, Argo. A similar myth exists in the Blackfoot traditions of the First Nations people of Canada and the USA, where they are considered the two brothers Ashes Chief and Struck-behind.Also see image in Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7424024 |
||
Date | 15 December 2022 (upload date) | ||
Source |
|
||
Author | Amirreza Kamkar/IAU OAE | ||
Other versions |
|
Licensing
[edit]This media was created by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Their website states: "The images, videos and web texts on iau.org are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and may on a non-exclusive basis be reproduced without fee, on the conditions outlined below." Conditions:
| |
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 22:59, 27 June 2023 | 1,607 × 2,200 (837 KB) | OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs) | #Spacemedia - Upload of https://www.iau.org/static/archives/images/large/ann22042o.jpg via Commons:Spacemedia |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
The following page uses this file:
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Author | Amirreza Kamkar |
---|---|
Copyright holder |
|
Credit/Provider | Amirreza Kamkar/IAU OAE |
Source | International Astronomical Union |
Short title |
|
Image title |
|
Usage terms |
|
Date and time of data generation | 12:00, 15 December 2022 |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 14.0 (Macintosh) |
File change date and time | 09:26, 1 December 2022 |
Unique ID of original document | 03AFF21383837204C829BBC58EB015E6 |
Date and time of digitizing | 22:08, 10 June 2022 |
Date metadata was last modified | 10:26, 1 December 2022 |
Contact information |
98-bis Blvd Arago Paris, None, F-75014 FRANCE |
IIM version | 4 |