APOD: ISS and the Summer Milky Way (2013 Jan 24)

[luigi]

Luigi, since you've been so graceful to pop in here and comment and answer questions, that I feel I must say that I wasn't sufficiently enthusiastic the first time I commented on your image. I think your picture is downright magical. I've never seen the Large Magellanic Cloud so "integrated" into an "earthly scene" before. The LMC is hovering like a fantastic, semi-transparent blue bird or butterfly over a streaky yellowish cloud in the Earth's skies, while the pink Carina Nebula is waving at it from "below". The straight white line of the ISS appears to be connecting "heaven and earth".

Indeed, it's magical!

Ann

Thank you very much I really appreciate your comment.

[DavidLeodis]

I would be grateful if someone could please clarify something. Is the bright star at the top of the Coalsack Nebula part of the Southern Cross (Crux) or not, as information that I have found about the Southern Cross is confusing me? Unfortunately the very useful annotated version of the image in Luis Argerich's website also does not make it clear (at least to me!). It is though a very nice scene.

Yes it is! That's Acrux, the brightest star of the southern Cross.

The long arm of Crux is formed by Gamma Crucis and Acrux, Gamma Crux is a red giant, the color can be observed with the naked eye and in most photos.
The short arm is formed by Delta & Beta Crucis, Beta has a proper name: Mimosa and just below Mimosa you can find the beautiful open cluster known as the jewell box.

I don't know if you are familiar with "the emu", a giant bird that can be seen in the Milky Way using it's dark parts. The head of the Emu is the coalsack and Acrux is the eye. Then below Alpha and Beta Centauri are the neck of the bird.

Thank you Luigi for your reply, which is greatly appreciated.

[spaced]

When I enlarged the picture on my computer I saw a streak just below the very bright cloud in the center of the picture. It's vertical and about an inch long (when the picture is enlarged). What might that be?