Explanation:
This dreamlike
view looking south from the historic
mountain top Pic du Midi Observatory combines moonlit domes,
a winter night sky,
and the snowy peaks of the French Pyrenees.
Encroaching
on the night, lights from the
La Mongie ski resort
illuminate the mountain slopes nearby while
the glow along the distant horizon is from urban areas in
southern France and Spain.
The night sky
features
stars of the constellations
Orion
and Gemini with a bright
planet Mars very near the top edge,
left of center.
The three prominent domes visible (from left to right)
house a 0.6 meter telescope reserved for amateur astronomers,
a 1 meter telescope that was used to support the
Apollo lunar landing missions, and the new,
Sun-watching CLIMSO.
