Explanation:
Scroll right to take in the view from the highest summit in the contiguous USA.
The above 360-degree digitally stitched panorama, taken in mid-July, shows the view from 4,400-meter high
Mt. Whitney in
Sequoia National Park,
California.
In the foreground, angular boulders populate Mt. Whitney's summit while in the distance, just below the horizon, peaks from the
Sierra Nevada mountain range are visible.
Sky sights include
light pollution emanating from
Los Angeles and
Fresno, visible just above the horizon.
Dark clouds, particularly evident on the image left well above the horizon, are the remnants of a recent
thunderstorm near
Death Valley.
High above, the
band of the
Milky Way Galaxy arches across the image left.
Bright airglow bands are visible all over the sky but are particularly prominent on the image right.
The planet Jupiter appears as the brightest point on the image left.
A discerning eye can also find a faint image of the far distant
Andromeda galaxy, a
satellite trail, and many constellations.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the completion of the
historic stone shelter on Mt. Whitney, visible toward the image right.
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