Shooting a Laser at the Galactic Centre

The sky above Paranal on 21 July 2007. Two 8.2-m telescopes of ESO's VLT are seen against the wonderful backdrop of the myriad of stars and dust that makes the Milky Way. Just above Yepun, Unit Telescope number 4, the Small Magellanic Cloud - a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way - is shining. A laser beam is coming out of Yepun, aiming at the Galactic Centre. It is used to obtain images that are free from the blurring effect of the atmosphere. On this image, the laser beam looks slightly artificial. This is a side effect due to saturation caused by the long exposure time. Planet Jupiter is seen as the brightest object on the upper right, next to the star Antares. Image taken by ESO astronomer Yuri Beletsky.

Image Credit: ESO/Yuri Beletsky
Explanation from: http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0733b/

Sunrise over Cape Sounion

The Sun is a moving target. Its annual motion through planet Earth's sky tracks north and south, from solstice to solstice, as the seasons change. On December 21st, the solstice marking the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the south, the Sun rose at its southernmost point along the eastern horizon. Earlier December, 2009, looking toward the Aegean Sea from a well-chosen vantage point at Cape Sounion, Greece, it also rose in this dramatic scene. In the foreground lies the twenty-four hundred year old Temple of Poseidon.

Image Credit & Copyright: Anthony Ayiomamitis
Explanation from: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091223.html

Total Lunar Eclipse and Lightning

Icaria, Greece

June 15, 2011

Image Credit & Copyright: Chris Kotsiopoulos