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Milky Way

The galaxy that contains our Solar System, characterized by its barred spiral structure with multiple spiral arms extending from a central bar.

Source: esa.int

APODs including "Milky Way"

A Kalahari Sky

30/05/2017

A Kalahari Sky
Image Credit: Petr Horálek / NASA APOD

You wake up in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, Africa. You go outside your tent, set up your camera, and take long exposures of the land and sky. What might you see? Besides a lot of blowing dust and the occasional acacia tree, you might catch many sky wonders. Pictured in 2015 September, sky highlights include the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the Pleiades Star Cluster, Barnard's Loop, and both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, to name just a few. Although most of these faded in the morning light, they were quickly replaced by a partial eclipse of the Sun. Free Presentation: APOD Editor to speak in Prague on June 30