Starship Asterisk*

From Alpha to Omega in Crete

Explanation: This beautiful telephoto composition spans light-years in a natural night skyscape from the island of Crete. Looking south, exposures both track the stars and record a fixed foreground in three merged panels that cover a 10x12 degree wide field of view. The May 15 waxing gibbous moonlight illuminates the church and mountainous terrain. A mere 18 thousand light-years away, huge globular star cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) shining above gives a good visual impression of its appearance in binoculars on that starry night. Active galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is near the top of the frame, some 11 million light-years distant. Also found toward the expansive southern constellation Centaurus and about the size of our own Milky Way is edge on spiral galaxy NGC 4945. About 13 million light-years distant it's only a little farther along, and just above the horizon at the right.

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I love the contrast between the galaxy (Centaurus A) and the globular (Omega Centauri) in this photo.

But where is Alpha (Centauri)? I know, that very southerly star is below the horizon from the vantage point of Crete. So this picture doesn't take us from Alpha to Omega, then.

It's a very fine photo in its own right.

Ann

Maybe it is known as Centaurus Alpha in Greece?

My way to come to the title from Alpha to Omega is that I consider the Centaurus A galaxy - A as first letter of greek Alphabet called Alpha (photo taken in Greece!) and Omega from the well-known Omega Centauri Cluster.

Johannes

Let's not ignore the church in the photo.
Inside lies a book (I guarantee), written in Greek, and on a page towards the end is a sentence, "I am the Alpha and the Omega."

Yeah .. and 'The bright and morning star' and 'bright and evening star' is in that book also. Nice.

Sigh - Nice Art! Now there's a sight to pray for.

I don't understand Art's post. A pun on the word "sigh" ?
How about: Anyway, that's a really lovely photo. I like the hedge row along the road leading to the church.
A Google images search indicates that there are a lot of churches in Crete, many of them quite photogenic.

Yes, no pshaw, a psi

Nice shot!

You might want to be more clear, though, that the waxing gibbous moon is not actually in the frame. That brightness at the center is a globular cluster.

One Psi leads to another in our fascinating universe.

The story of the J/Psi particle in physics is one amusing anecdote in human behavior. We all want credit where credit is due but waiting for the perfect data to accumulate occasionally leads from a "charming" discovery to angst. Luckily it turned out to be a Nobel effort for both groups and a lesson in cooperation for the rest of us.

Johannes wrote:My way to come to the title from Alpha to Omega is that I consider the Centaurus A galaxy - A as first letter of greek Alphabet called Alpha (photo taken in Greece!) and Omega from the well-known Omega Centauri Cluster.

Johannes

Hello Johannes
You have made a very interesting and thoughtful composition that connects on so many different levels. Also I love your work with CHART32 especially the planetary nebulae, Hen 2-111, NGC 3699 and NGC 5882 (that halo!) are some of my favourites. I've noticed there are lots of new galaxy images on the CHART32, I would love to see some new PN updates.
For those that might not know me, I really really really really really really like planetary nebulae.