APOD: Night Sky Reflections from the... (2019 Oct 22)

[APOD Robot]

Night Sky Reflections from the World's Largest Mirror

Explanation: What's being reflected in the world's largest mirror? Stars, galaxies, and a planet. Many of these stars are confined to the grand arch that runs across the image, an arch that is the central plane of our home Milky Way Galaxy. Inside the arch is another galaxy -- the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Stars that are individually visible include Antares on the far left and Sirius on the far right. The planet Jupiter shines brightly just below Antares. The featured picture is composed of 15 vertical frames taken consecutively over ten minutes from the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia. Uyuni Salt Flat (Salar de Uyuni) is the largest salt flat<a/> on <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/ea ... ew/">Earth and is so large and so extraordinarily flat that, after a rain, it can become the world's largest mirror -- spanning 130 kilometers. This expansive mirror was captured in early April reflecting each of the galaxies, stars, and planet mentioned above.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[Antony Rawlinson]

I read through the - informative as always - text below the image, expecting to find mention of the human figure in the centre, and the heavenly body s/he is apparently holding in their right hand. Somehow among the tour of the rest of the image content, this detail seems frustratingly to have been forgotten. The YouTube link late in the text doesn't seem to relate to the occasion portrayed.

Does anyone have any further knowledge of the origin of the image?

[Ann]

The salt flat scares me. Imagine being stuck there.

But the APOD is stunning, I'll grant you that.

Ann

[orin stepanek]

The salt flat scares me. Imagine being stuck there.

But the APOD is stunning, I'll grant you that.

Ann

Ann; It does have that Wow effect!

MilkyWaySaltFlat_Huerta_960_annotated.jpg (18.48 KiB) Viewed 6631 times

[MalcolmP]

Yes, beautiful.
But ruined by some burk who wandered into the middle of it with a torch !

yea I know, , , seems to be a habit these days

[neufer]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

The salt flat scares me.

Imagine being stuck there.

• They now only permit quick stepping
  Flamenco dancers named Margarita out there.

[Chris Peterson]

Uyuni Salt Flat is the largest salt flat on Earth and is so large and so extraordinarily flat that, after a rain, it can become the world's largest mirror -- spanning 130 kilometers.

In the absence of wind, I'd expect the Pacific Ocean to have that honor. And a great number of lakes must create larger mirrors. The flatness of the basin seems unimportant to the flatness of the surface!

[neufer]

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
'Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Uyuni Salt Flat is the largest salt flat on Earth and is so large and so extraordinarily flat that, after a rain, it can become the world's largest mirror -- spanning 130 kilometers.

In the absence of wind, I'd expect the Pacific Ocean to have that honor. And a great number of lakes must create larger mirrors. The flatness of the basin seems unimportant to the flatness of the surface!

A large shallow pool of water certainly doesn't hurt the situation. The huge Pacific Ocean will always be affected by distant waves in the absence of local wind.

[blues_hawk]

Wow! That would be a once in a lifetime chance for most of us, and to have to have it rain just then...(boggle) Outstanding work.

[Mehdi]

Hi
About the title of Oct. 22

"Night Sky Reflections from the World's Largest Mirror"

How are you sure that it's the largest mirror in the world? 
Honestly our knowledge is limited to earth.

I think, 
To help people for a better understanding of cosmos and the real world scale, it's time to be more careful.

Isn't it better to say "largest mirror in the earth"?

Best regards

[Chris Peterson]

Hi
About the title of Oct. 22

"Night Sky Reflections from the World's Largest Mirror"

How are you sure that it's the largest mirror in the world?
Honestly our knowledge is limited to earth.

I think,
To help people for a better understanding of cosmos and the real world scale, it's time to be more careful.

Isn't it better to say "largest mirror in the earth"?

"The World" is synonymous with "the Earth" in this context. Not many people would see it otherwise.