Kevin Rheese
Not so long ago in a galaxy not that far away...
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds above light-painted Pinnacles, Nambung National Park.
These two galaxies orbit our own Milky Way galaxy, and until 1994 were regarded as the next closest galaxies to our own.
I understand that the Magellanic Clouds are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere, but are quite visible in that Hemisphere to the naked eye as 'grey smudges' in a dark sky.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (slightly below left of centre, and directly above the tallest pinnacle rock) is a little difficult to discern here, because of light pollution from the sweep of a car's headlights driving around in the National Park (bottom left-hand side). I was irritated by the invasion on my photography at the time, but upon review, chose this image as more interesting because of the light intrusion.
Just to the left of the Small Magellanic Cloud is the bright globular star cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). The bright white star in the upper right corner of the frame is Canopus.
Not so long ago in a galaxy not that far away...
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds above light-painted Pinnacles, Nambung National Park.
These two galaxies orbit our own Milky Way galaxy, and until 1994 were regarded as the next closest galaxies to our own.
I understand that the Magellanic Clouds are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere, but are quite visible in that Hemisphere to the naked eye as 'grey smudges' in a dark sky.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (slightly below left of centre, and directly above the tallest pinnacle rock) is a little difficult to discern here, because of light pollution from the sweep of a car's headlights driving around in the National Park (bottom left-hand side). I was irritated by the invasion on my photography at the time, but upon review, chose this image as more interesting because of the light intrusion.
Just to the left of the Small Magellanic Cloud is the bright globular star cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). The bright white star in the upper right corner of the frame is Canopus.