The Astronomy Picture of the Day site has a crystal-clear mission: "Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."
What is happening in this picture? Click on the image to get a better view. Here's what you will see (description and all links from the APOD site):
Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
Credit & Copyright: Antti Kemppainen
Explanation: Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught. The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.
Some of the images are so stunningly beautiful that I cannot believe they are real. Others left me speechless and longing to wander our planet and surrounding stars. Check out February 8th — "Galaxies Away" or February 3rd — "Alborz Mountains in Moonlight."
Look at these whenever you need a little inspiration, a break from visual clutter and media spam, or a reminder of how vast our universe truly is. These images could also be used as writing prompts.
If you have an image that would fit with this site, NASA takes submissions!
From Found on the Web.
Stunning. Thx so much for the link!
Posted by: Nienke | February 13, 2007 at 09:47 AM
That pic is absolutely amazing!
Posted by: Maryam in Marrakech | February 13, 2007 at 06:49 PM