Explanation:
Recorded last week,
this dawn
portrait of snowy mountain and starry sky captures a
very rare scenario.
The view does feature a pristine
sky above
the 2,600 meter high mountain
Cerro Paranal,
but clear skies over Paranal are not at all unusual.
That's one reason the mountain
is home to the European Southern Observatory's
Very
Large Telescope.
Considering the number of
satellites now
in orbit, the near sunrise streak of a
satellite glinting at the upper left
isn't rare either.
And the long, bright trail of a meteor can often be spotted this
time of year too.
The one at the far right is associated with the
annual Perseid meteor shower whose
peak is expected tomorrow (Friday, August 12).
In fact, the rarest aspect of the picture is just the snow.
Cerro Paranal
rises above South America's Atacama desert, known as
the driest place on planet Earth.
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