Southern Cross by Michael Anderson - a photo on Flickriver

            I had never seen a spiral galaxy with my naked eye. Until this night.  

Maina island sits far out in the corner of Aitutaki Lagoon, alone in the vast Pacific stillness, as far from artificial lights as you can get today. Polynesian mariners colonized the South Pacific long before there was any electricity, relying on the Southern Cross and other constellations to guide them across tremendous expanses of empty ocean. It's nice to know there are a few places left in the world where that ancient sky still survives, unchanged for millenia.  

Sitting on this tiny island, listening to the crash of waves surrounding me, gazing up at the heavens, I feel like I'm looking up at a giant mirror. I imagine this little speck of land I'm sleeping on is just a speck of white beach in the endless blue sea. Just like those tiny stars in the vast emptiness of space above.  

Those tiny white clouds above the island are the Magellanic Cloud Galaxies. The Large Magellanic Cloud is the one just above the island and the Small Magellanic Cloud is the one higher up. They are the two closest galaxies to our sun and they orbit around our Milky Way.  They are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

This is a blend of two images taken on a tripod about 15 minutes apart.

Taken on: December 3, 2009

Tags:

maina

aitutaki

stars

night

galaxy

astrophotography

night photography

michael

anderson « less

Sets appears in: • South Pacific

Groups appears in: • South Pacific (The Happy Isles of Oceania...) • EarthShots.org Entries more » • Unforgettable Landscapes(High Quality) • Natural Landscapes • [ Wonders of Nature ] • Nomadic Vision • About You - (P2C2) • www.MichaelAndersonGallery.com • THE ARTISTS Club « less

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