Happy Astronomy Day! May 15, 2021

Happy Astronomy Day!

No, that"s not a downpour of lightsabers—but it"s no typical night sky either. Stargazing here at Paranal Observatory, on a mountaintop in Chile"s desolate Atacama Desert, you"ll get one of the clearest possible naked-eye views of the southern skies. This "lightsaber" effect comes from the photo"s long exposure: What we"re seeing is these stars" paths as they track across the night sky due to our planet"s rotation. The dazzling colors indicate temperature, from chilly red (5,000-ish degrees Fahrenheit) to balmy blue (temps in the tens of thousands).

© Matteo Omied/Alamy

palette

Today in History

May 15, 2018Celebrating the UN’s International Day of Families
May 15, 2019Basking in the glow
May 15, 2020The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote
May 15, 2022Lunar eclipse
May 15, 2023The Canary Islands, Spain
May 15, 2024The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
May 15, 2025Palace of Westminster, London, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 1, 2025Antarctica Day
Oct 30, 2022Polar Bear Week
Jan 31, 2019A bohemian feline
Dec 2, 2018Winter in Old Nuuk
Apr 9, 2022Light show at the skatepark
Aug 14, 2019Lizard of mystery
Oct 15, 2024Great wildebeest migration at Mara River, Kenya
Apr 3, 2024Find a Rainbow Day
Oct 2, 2024Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Sep 1, 2019Bidding summer adieu
Apr 11, 2018Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province, China
Mar 24, 2025African bush elephants in Namibia
Apr 13, 2024Apple trees in spring, Germany
May 12, 2021A visit to Limerick on Limerick Day
Aug 22, 2022Burrowing owls
Dec 4, 2019Protecting endangered giants
Mar 19, 2022Chicagohenge
Dec 7, 2022National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Apr 19, 2025First day of National Park Week
Feb 11, 2019There’s a dog in there somewhere
Jan 30, 2019Embracing the cold
Oct 31, 2023Halloween
Dec 25, 2021Merry Christmas
Oct 14, 2019Canadian Thanksgiving
Feb 17, 2022Flamenco dancers
Dec 1, 2020Giving Tuesday
Dec 18, 2018A hit ballet, long after its debut
May 20, 2025World Bee Day
Aug 28, 2021Relationship status: It s complicated
Feb 20, 2024Kinder Scout, Peak District National Park, England