Explanation:
The graceful arc of the Milky Way
begins and ends at two
mountain peaks in this solemn night sky panorama.
Created from a 24 frame mosaic, exposures tracking Earth and sky
were made separately, with northern California's Mount Lassen at the
left and Mount Shasta at the far right, just below the
star and dust clouds of the galactic
center.
Lassen and Shasta are volcanoes in the
Cascade Mountain Range
of North America, an arc of the volcanic Pacific Ring of Fire.
In the dim, snow-capped peaks,
planet Earth seems to echo
the subtle glow of the Milky Way's own faint, unresolved
starlight.
digg_url = 'http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091225.html'; digg_skin = 'compact';
