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).
Happy Astronomy Day!
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Rosa Parks Day
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A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
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Extraterrestrial Culture Day
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There’s a dog in there somewhere
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Goats don t grow on trees
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Hawai i Volcanoes National Park at 106
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Museum Night in Berlin
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Where the wildflowers grow
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A day of service for Dr. King
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Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, US-Canada border
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Upstate autumn
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Brain coral
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Indigenous Peoples Day
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Baltic Sea, Estonia
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Guild houses of Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
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Ancient til trees in Fanal Forest, Madeira, Portugal
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Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
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El Valle de la Luna, Chile
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International Literacy Day
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National Trails Day
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Vinh Hy Bay, Vietnam
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World Octopus Day
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Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
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Atrani, Amalfi Coast, Italy
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Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
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Celebrating the Acadians
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A peek at an explosive peak
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A castle fit for a count
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Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

