The most powerful cosmic rays in the universe currently have no explanation. New research suggests that exotic, self-annihilating particles in our own galaxy may hold the answer.

#cosmicrays #darkmatter #MilkyWay

https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/most-powerful-cosmic-rays-in-the-universe-start-shockingly-close-to-earth-paper-claims

Live Science · Feb 27Most powerful cosmic rays in the universe start shockingly close to Earth, paper claimsBy Paul Sutter

Mar 1

**Daniel Pomarède** @pomarede@mastodon.social · Feb 27

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede@mastodon.social

NOIRLab image of the week

Gemini North Under a Blanket of Airglow

Release date: Feb. 26, 2025
Full credits and details: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2509a/

I took the liberty to upload its panorama version in this interactive 360° app, give it a spin, it's beautiful: https://www.360cities.net/image/gemini-north-under-a-blanket-of-airglow-360-panorama/vr

The Milky Way shares the stage with a luminous bubble of green and orange airglow in this panoramic image of Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab. Gemini North (right) is accompanied here by the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope (CFHT) (left). In this image, you could remove all of the stars, the brilliant stripe of the Milky Way, and the nearby city lights of Hilo, Hawai‘i (far left), and you would still be left with a picture that isn’t completely dark. This is thanks to the persistent light of airglow.

Airglow is primarily caused by sunlight interacting with atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere, which allows them to gain excess energy. This excess energy is then released as a particle of light called a photon. The frequencies of the photons determine the captivating colors of airglow. While it’s often difficult to see this light with the naked eye, a camera can capture it, as seen in the photo above. Intersecting the Milky Way is another lucent phenomenon known as zodiacal light with the gegenschein to the right.

This photo was taken as part of the NOIRLab 2022 Photo Expedition to all the NOIRLab sites. Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. Fulldome and extended view versions of this photo also are available.

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)

#Astronomy #NOIRLab #MaunaKea

Feb 27

**David de Groot** @david@photog.social · Feb 23

David de Groot @david@photog.social

Guess who forgot to pack their tripod and ultra-wide lens?

So this is two 35mm shots with the camera balanced on a stool, held up on an angle with my phone (on its side) and the phone stand for the higher angle, then stitched in Lightroom.

Not great by any means, but who can resist a bit of milky way when you're in a dark area?

Part of the Milky Way, with the Southern Cross towards the bottom above the trees,.

#night #sky #stars

Feb 23

**earthling** @appassionato@mastodon.social · Feb 22

earthling @appassionato@mastodon.social

Summer Milky Way at Lake Ninan, Western Australia

by inefekt

#astrophotography
#MilkyWay

Pink/purple Milky Way over a small dead tree in a white salt pan, with a couple of other galaxies on the right.

Feb 22

**Flipboard Science Desk** @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social · 2025-02-17T11:20:26.000Z

Flipboard Science Desk @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social

Things move fast in the Milky Way. About 24,000 light-years from Earth, a peculiar pair of objects appears to be hurtling through space at a speed of at least 1.2 million MPH. @ScienceAlert has more:

https://flip.it/nl9eVz

ScienceAlert · Feb 17NASA May Have Found The Fastest Planetary System We've Ever SeenIn the Milky Way's central bulge, about 24,000 light-years from Earth, a peculiar pair of objects appears to be hurtling through space at breakneck speed.

#Science #Space #MilkyWay

Feb 17

**Flipboard Science Desk** @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social · Feb 16

Flipboard Science Desk @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social

Astronomers have discovered a black hole jet that erupted into existence when the universe was less than 1.2 billion years old, or roughly 9% its current age. The jet spans 200,000 light-years — twice the width of the Milky Way. "We were amazed, but also skeptical, so we made sure to assemble all the evidence before publishing this work," research lead Anniek Gloudemans said. Read more at @LiveScience

https://flip.it/S6YLGM

#Science #Space #MilkyWay

Feb 16

**Melonie** @everythread.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy · Feb 16

Melonie @everythread.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy

Star Trails ABC Open contributor Benjamin Ewerns and Sophie Colvin #StarTrails #NightSky #Astrophotography #LongExposure #Stars #Galaxy #Cosmos #Sky #Photography #Nature #Universe #Celestial #Space #Stargazing #Reflections #NightPhotography #Scenic #MilkyWay #DarkSky #Astronomy

Feb 16

**Gugel** @Gugel@hessen.social · Feb 11

Gugel @Gugel@hessen.social

The august milky way in 2023 on the swabian alps.

A tree, slightly illuminated by a flashlight, stands out against a crystal-clear starry sky. The Milky Way, which is visible in the sky, glows in orange and magenta tones.

#photography #fotografie #landscape

Feb 11

**Paul Knightly** @paulknightly@pixelfed.social · Feb 10

Paul Knightly @paulknightly@pixelfed.social

This was a challenging photo. I captured it about 7 years ago while driving from Salt Lake City up to southern Montana to be in a friend's wedding. When I started looking into the logistics of my arrival time, I realized there would be an opportunity to photograph the Milky Way somewhere under the dark skies of northern Utah or southern Idaho. Not wanting to stray too far off the highway, I looked for areas that might offer a unique foreground for the composition.

I soon realized that the highway alignment (northwest to southeast) would allow for a "highway to the stars" type of image, and started looking for an ideal overpass. This one caught my eye and I couldn't have been happier with the results. It took some time to capture, as it was necessary to get all of the Milky Way images without traffic on the highway, and then of course I needed to get a few images with light trails from the cars on the highway below.

I didn't have star tracker at the time, but other than that there are few things I would've changed considering the challenge and how it turned out!

#Astrophotography #Astronomy #Space #MilkyWay #Landscape #LandscapePhotography

An image of the star field of the Milky Way reaching down towards the horizon, where it meets with the vanishing point of an interstate highway highway. Light trails from vehicle lights zip towards the confluence with the Milky Way, creating a "highway to the stars" effect.

#landscapephotography

Feb 10

**Khurram Wadee** @mkwadee@mastodon.org.uk · Feb 9

Khurram Wadee @mkwadee@mastodon.org.uk

#MilkyWay over the #AustralianPinnacles
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250209.html

Desert scene at night with Milky Way in the sky and stone pillars on the ground.

#APOD #Australia

Feb 9

**Ben Alldridge** @benalldridge@mastodon.social · Feb 2 *

Ben Alldridge @benalldridge@mastodon.social

#astrophotography folks! Show me your coolest #aurora #photography.

This one was taken at The Hazards on Tasmania’s east coast. I drove about 800km in 24 hours to make this photo happen.

Canon 5D Mark IV, SIGMA ART 24mm f/1.4, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini.

The scene is set on a wide, rocky bay with deeply red toned rocks covered in lichen. Across the bay is a jagged mountain range which rise from the edge of the bay. They have scarred dolerite faces. Behind the range is a strongly green and pink aurora, topped by the setting Milky Way over the far coastline of Tasmania’s east coast.

#space #milkyway #mountains

Feb 2 *

**Max Inwood** @maxnti@mastodon.social · Feb 1 *

Max Inwood @maxnti@mastodon.social

The Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere :)

the Milky Way core, rising above a small river in New Zealand. in the background, the snow capped southern alps mountains can be seen

#astronomy #photography #photo

Feb 1 *

**Flipboard Science Desk** @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social · Jan 27

Flipboard Science Desk @ScienceDesk@flipboard.social

One large Milky Way galaxy or many galaxies? 100 years ago, a young Edwin Hubble settled astronomy’s "Great Debate."

From @ConversationUS: https://flip.it/DwITlT

The ConversationOne large Milky Way galaxy or many galaxies? 100 years ago, a young Edwin Hubble settled astronomy’s ‘Great Debate’Hubble’s work pushed the field of astronomy forward, starting with his paper demonstrating that some objects exist outside our galaxy.

#Space #Astronomy #MilkyWay

Jan 27

**Daniel Pomarède** @pomarede@mastodon.social · Jan 25

Daniel Pomarède @pomarede@mastodon.social

NOIRLab image of the week

Dust and Dark Energy above CTIO

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release date: Jan. 22, 2025
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2504a/

This Image of the Week showcases the stunning Milky Way gracefully arcing over the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab in Chile. CTIO is located at an altitude of 2200 meters (7200 feet) in the remote mountains of Chile. This location, high in the sky and far from city light pollution, allows telescopes like the Blanco Telescope to study the sky in breathtaking clarity. This image encapsulates the beauty of the cosmos and the sophisticated efforts undertaken by astronomers to unravel its mysteries. One such effort in which this telescope has played a major role is the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The survey examined the origin of the accelerating Universe to uncover the nature of dark energy by measuring the 14-billion-year history of cosmic expansion. Over a six-year period, this telescope, armed with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) fabricated by the U.S. Department of Energy, observed about two million distant galaxies and found several thousand supernovae. The results of this ambitious survey are being used to trace the history of cosmic expansion and study the nature of dark energy.

This photo was taken as part of the NOIRLab 2022 Photo Expedition to all the NOIRLab sites. Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)

#Astronomy #NOIRLab #BlancoTelescope

Jan 25

**Aaron Pengelly** @AaronPengellyPhoto@pixelfed.social · Jan 25

Aaron Pengelly @AaronPengellyPhoto@pixelfed.social

Hello! My name is Aaron. I’m a professional paramedic and nurse with a passion for nature and photography.

Im new here on Pixelfed but I’m looking forward to connecting with you all here.

My first image is a special one for me - taken during a midnight walk along a beach in Tofino with my wife and daughter as the Milky Way arced overhead.

#photography #astrophotography #milkyway #tofino #vancouverisland #canada

#canada

Jan 25