Milky Way Glows Over New Zealand in Stunning Photo
Space.com has featured a stunning image of the stars; proving New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to view the night sky.
The image, by astrophotographer Amit Kamble, was taken on a site near the historic Maori site Opotaka, looking towards Mount Tongariro on July 27.
The Milky Way becomes a midnight rainbow across the sky in the stunning panorama.
Kamble wrote that while the night was very cold, the beauty of the environment pushed him to stay.
“I’d rather stand there in freezing cold, enjoy the serenity of the historic Maori place, enjoy the Milky Way and all the shooting stars then go back and sit in the car to warm up,” Kamble wrote in an email to Space.com.
The image shows out host galaxy, the Milky Way, along with the Small and the Large Magellanic Clouds.
Airglow in green and red is also visible around the horizon. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one-tenth the size of the Milky Way, and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is just half that size.
As both are relatively close to our own galaxy, they appear quite large.
Kamble used a Canon 6Dwith 20sec, ISO 6400, f2.8 using Samyang 24mm.
View more of Kamble’s images on his Facebook page: Amit Kamble Astro-Photography.
Photo credit: Amit Kamble Photography
Note: The Space.com article incorrectly said the image was taken in Foxton. The photo was shot from the historic Maori site Opotaka, looking towards Mount Tongariro and Lake Rotoaira (via Facebook).
