APOD: The Milky Way Over the Peak of the... (2010 Nov 01)

[APOD Robot]

The Milky Way Over the Peak of the Furnace

Explanation: On Reunion Island, it is known simply as "The Volcano." To others, it is known as the Piton de la Fournaise, which is French for the Peak of the Furnace. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The Volcano started a new eruption last month by spewing hot lava bombs as high as 10 meters into the air from several vents. Pictured above, the recent eruption was caught before a star filled southern sky, appearing somehow contained beneath the arching band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Also visible in the background sky is the Pleiades open star cluster, the constellation of Orion, the brightest star Sirius, and the neighboring Large and Small Magellanic Cloud galaxies. (Can you find them?) The Piton de la Fournaise erupted for months in 2006, and for days in 2007, 2008, and in January of 2010. Nobody knows how long the current eruption will last, or when The Volcano will erupt next.

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[neufer]

[b][color=#0000FF]ITCZ TRMM rainfall climatology for March[/color][/b]

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<<Réunion (French: La Réunion) is a French island of about 800,000 population located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union. Between 15 and 16 March 1952, Cilaos at the centre of Réunion received 1.87 meters of rainfall. This is the greatest 24-hour precipitation total ever recorded on earth. The island also holds the record for most rainfall in 72 hours, 3.93 meters at Commerson's Crater in March 2007 from Cyclone Gamede.>>

[Syntax]

so how do we find the constellations?

[Joan Girones]

I have doubts but...

http://www.joangirones.com/imatges/apod101101r.jpg

[Isoparix]

"....as high as 10 metres....", eh? Something lost going to metric, perhaps? I could hurl something as high as 10 metres, but I don't think it would merit such excitement...!

[León]

Meeting is the English translation of Reunión, is the union of principle with the end of the process, all heat up there stars, moving from atoms, below the consolidated matter was stripped of residual heat.
Is the heat that is dying or what is the same as the movement is reduced.

down the Sun

[neufer]

"....as high as 10 metres....", eh? Something lost going to metric, perhaps?
I could hurl something as high as 10 metres, but I don't think it would merit such excitement...!

A hot lava bomb?

[owlice]

This image first appeared on Asterisk here, along with some words from Luc about capturing the image. It's amazing what astrophotographers do to get the perfect shot!

Kudos, Luc!

[bystander]

This image first appeared on Asterisk here, along with some words from Luc about capturing the image.

Click to view full size image

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[orin stepanek]

Thanks owlice and bystander; I saved the Discovery photo with it's water reflection and the Luc Perrot photo for future backgrounds.

[hsanchez]

Thank you for the beautiful images we get every day.
If there are so many stars in different formation stages, could you assemble a formation sequence?
Regards.
Harold Sanchez
Costa Rica

[Ann]

I love how the Milky Way and the constellations look like sparks flying all over the sky from the volcano.

But I, too, wish I could see the constellations! The only sky objects I recognize are the Magellanic Clouds.

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

But I, too, wish I could see the constellations! The only sky objects I recognize are the Magellanic Clouds.

Well, most of the constellations are southern, which for the most part are even less apparent than many northern ones. Gemini is extremely obvious, with Castor and Pollux just above the brightest volcanic glow. The twins are upside down, with their feet just inside the Milky Way glow. The constellation is harder to recognize for us northerners when it's oriented this way. You can also see Orion just above the Milky Way, with orange Betelgeuse in the glow. Sirius and the stars of Canis Major are pretty easy to recognize just right of center, in the Milky Way. And you should be able to see the Pleiades, at the far left.

[podkayn]

Reunion is south of the equator, but not so far that some northern constellations wouldn't be visible. In this image, we definitely see the Magellanic Clouds to the right, and what I take to be the Pleiades at the far left, just about half-way between the skyline and the top of the image. Thus, north is left and south is right - so we are facing east. That means that Orion must be lower toward the horizon than the Pleiades, and a bit more southerly- toward the center of the picture, where the volcanic light is so strong. But I kind of think I see Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, oriented with Bellatrix directly over Betelgeuse, and the other Orion stars lost in the eruption.

Sirius, which is east of Orion, must be even lower and more southerly; I think it may be within the boundaries of the image, but maybe hidden by the eruption?

I'd sure like a definitive answer to this question.

[podkayn]

Oops! While I was composing my message, the definitive message was posted!

[owlice]

Joan, who runs one of the APOD mirrors, posted a link to this image with labels that he added for Orion, Pleiades, etc. His post is here. (Thank you, Joan!)

[isoparix]

"....as high as 10 metres....", eh? Something lost going to metric, perhaps?
I could hurl something as high as 10 metres, but I don't think it would merit such excitement...!

A hot lava bomb?

But I'm not a volcano...! OK, OK - I'll sit at the back of the class and just say, "Gosh! Whatever next? Six inches of snow? The 30mph wind?" Enough, finis.

[alter-ego]

I thought Orion details were a bit confused by the visible distortion. Last night I used the really cool itneractive APOD video time-lapsed link "pictured above" explore the constellations. You can drag the view perspective around with your mouse. Anyway, I located about 3 dozen stars in Orion and thought I'd post this now, if only to also mention that neat interactive link.

Orion region enlarged from APOD and labeled
(click to enlarge)

[anks]

it is very difficult to find consteelation,LMC&star sirius,can you name them?

[alter-ego]

it is very difficult to find consteelation,LMC&star sirius,can you name them?

Yes, indentification of some constellations in that picture is not easy. Start with Joan Girones' link (above): http://www.joangirones.com/imatges/apod101101r.jpg
Sirius is labeled and easily found (the brighter star located below and left of the letter 'S'), the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is located directly above the work "Magellanic", and the SMC is to the right. Although Orion is not outlined, the letter 'O' in the word "Orion" is located about halfway between Rigel and Saiph (see my posted picture for reference)
Hope this helps.