Astrophoto: "Second Star to the Right and Straight on Until Morning!"

By Nancy Atkinson - March 12, 2014 11:10 AM UTC | Observing

Which way to the center of the galaxy? This very creative -- and gorgeous -- view of the Milky Way was taken this past weekend (March 9, 2014) by astrophotographer

Carlos Orue

from Australia. Carlos said the Milky Way was so bright under these dark skies that "I almost needed sunnies to turn down the glare! Lots of green airglow visible too." Also visible are the large and small Magallanic clouds.

While taking the images for this 14-image panorama, Carlos said he had lots of company: "Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus, bunny rabbits and foxes."

And just remember, according to Walt Disney, "That second star to the right shines in the night for you, to tell you that the dreams you plan really can come true."

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com