Galactic Storm

February 20, 2012

Galactic Storm

PhotographerBret Webster
Summary Author: Bret Webster; Jim Foster

February 2012 Earth Science Picture of the Day Viewer's Choice The photo above showing the Milky Way stretching across the desert sky and a distant monsoon thunderstorm on the horizon was captured just outside of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. I had been out taking some nighttime images of the sky in Canyonlands National Park, but as I was driving towards Dead Horse Point, I realized that the Milky Way was aligning perfectly with a thunderstorm cell well to the south of my location. So, I popped out of the car and snapped this shot. Fortunately, the sky overhead was still clear and very dark. The anvil top of the cumulonimbus cloud was just below the central portion (densest area) of the Milky Way. Altair is the bright star at upper left center – in the constellation of Aquila. Just above and to the left of the cloud tops the constellation of Sagittarius can be seen. Corona Australis is the semielliptical grouping of stars below Sagittarius and to the left of the storm. Photo taken on August 27, 2011.

Photo Details: Camera Maker: Canon; Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye; Focal Length: 15mm; Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 30.000 s; ISO equiv: 3200; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows.