Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 October 22

            Night Sky Reflections from the World's Largest Mirror
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jheison Huerta

   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 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. This expansive mirror was
   captured in early April reflecting each of the galaxies, stars, and
   planet mentioned above.

                      Tomorrow's picture: famous swirls
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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