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In front of the curve of the Milky Way we find the hourglass-shaped Orion and the bright Pleiades star cluster.

Warm Winter Night Over Spiš Region

image
Created for the OAE

Caption: Winner in the 2022 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images of celestial patterns.   This image, taken in Slovakia in January 2022, shows regions of the Milky Way and a rich variety of constellations. The summer constellations of the northern hemisphere are very low in the sky towards the bottom-right. The bright stars of Cygnus and Lyra shine through the artificial lights at the horizon. The huge array of northern winter and autumn constellations with many bright stars are associated with diverse cultural stories. For the Lakota people in North America the belt of the Orion constellation represents the spine of a bison (“Tayamnicankh”). Orion, the Hunter of Greek mythology, is sometimes described chasing the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. The Arabs transformed this view by considering the follower of the Pleiades only one star instead of a constellation. Aldebaran, the star in the right eye of Taurus, the Bull, comes from this interpretation, because the name Aldebaran derives from al-dabaran, The Follower. At the bottom-right, on the horizon, we can see the milky lightcone of the Zodiacal light stretching from the constellation Pisces through Aries, almost reaching the Pleiades, indicating the path of the planets and the Moon in this area. The Pleiades and the Hyades together form a gate on this path, where the heavenly bodies occasionally pass before entering the Milky Way. The planets were considered sheep in ancient Babylon and the modern constellation Orion was considered the “True Shepherd” of the Sky, with his shepherd’s tool reaching the ecliptic. In Roman tradition, the bright white star above the Pleiades and the Milky Way is called Capella, the Goat, which can be traced back to an Egyptian constellation in this area. Above the treetop in the middle-right part of the image, we see the autumn square, the Andromeda Galaxy and the W-shaped pattern of Cassiopeia. To the left of this group, in the central part of the visible Milky Way, is the constellation Perseus, with Cepheus in the dark area above Cassiopeia completing the celestial family. The Andromeda saga is a Greek story from the area that is now called Israel, and is rooted in Syrian traditions. The location of Andromeda was considered by the ancient Babylonians as the location of the goddess of sexual love, and by the Syrians as the location of the goddess of fertility. According to the saga, Andromeda was chained to a rock at the coast of Jaffa (Tel Aviv) in order to protect her land from a sea monster. The name of the hero who rescued her is Perseus, probably meaning “from Persia” (today’s Iran). Noticeable in the valley are the lights from towns. The yellow light above the horizon indicates larger cities there, which are given away by their light pollution.
Credit: Robert Barsa/IAU OAE

Glossary Terms: Constellation , Milky Way , Pisces , Taurus , Orion , Pleiades
Categories: Milky Way and Interstellar Medium , Naked Eye Astronomy

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

This file on Zenodo ( image 37.27 MB)


Wavy horizontal green bands, punctuated by dark vertical stripes. almost appear to rain down on a watery landscape

Iceland aurora, by Emanuele Balboni, Italy

image
Created for the OAE

Caption: Third place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Aurorae (still images) The blurred motions of the aurora caught during the exposure time of this photograph beautifully illustrate its dynamic nature. While certain forms of aurorae, like homogeneous arcs and bands or diffuse glows, can remain static for hours, others, like rayed arcs or bands (also called "curtains"), can change within seconds in shape and brightness.
Credit: Emanuele Balboni/IAU OAE

Glossary Terms: Aurora , Geomagnetic Storm , Aurora Borealis
Categories: Naked Eye Astronomy

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

This file on Zenodo ( image 867.38 kB)


An all-sky image with the sky as a dark blue circle. A curved band of light stretches from top to bottom

Under the Stars with Steve, by Sheila Wiwchar, Canada

video
Created for the OAE

Caption: Third place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Aurorae (time-lapses). This is a strange atmospheric phenomenon known as Steve. This is similar to an aurora as it is caused by charged particles interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. However unlike aurorae, the particles which cause Steve are generated high in the Earth's atmosphere rather than coming from the Sun. Note the banded "picket fence" appearance. This is caused by waves of these particles in the upper atmosphere. The name Steve was chosen by the first group to describe this phenomenon as a familiar name for something unknown. Sheila Wiwchar/IAU OAE
Credit: Wiwchar, Sheila; IAU OAE

Glossary Terms: Aurora , Geomagnetic Storm , Aurora Borealis
Categories: Naked Eye Astronomy

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

This file on Zenodo ( video 34.43 MB)


A small boat sits on the shore with the light and dark patches of the Milky Way above

Sailing the Celestial Seas

image
Created for the OAE

Caption: Honorable mention in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category of Still images taken exclusively with smartphones/mobile devices. In this black and white snapshot taken in April 2022 with a smartphone, a solitary boat rests on the shores of Lake Eucumbene, Australia, framed by the brilliant display of stars comprising the Milky Way. The prominent glow of the galactic centre stands out against the night sky, its intricate patterns of stars and nebulae casting a striking contrast. Each shimmering dot represents a distant sun, possibly orbited by uncharted planets, underscoring the vastness and complexity of our sprawling home galaxy.
Credit: Lucy Yunxi Hu/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)

Glossary Terms: Milky Way , Navigation
Categories: Naked Eye Astronomy
Tags: astrophotography

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

This file on Zenodo ( image 7.11 MB)


The Moon behind jagged, snowy mountains. The lower two thirds of the Moon are darker and redder than the upper third

The eclipsed Moon sets near the Rochetta di Prendera, Dolomiti Unesco, by Alessandra Masi, Italy

image
Created for the OAE

Caption: First place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Total lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon moves into the Earth`s shadow. This is the case when the Sun, Earth and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned. The reddish light reflected from the lunar surface is caused by sunlight that has been refracted on its way through Earth´s atmosphere in the direction of the Moon. It appears reddish because of the Rayleigh scattering of bluer light. The round shape of the Earth's shadow visible on the lunar surface was a proof for Aristotle that the Earth must be a sphere. This photo shows the eclipsed Moon that sets near the Rochetta di Prendera, Dolomiti Unesco, Italy, on 21 January 2019.
Credit: Alessandra Masi/IAU OAE

Glossary Terms: Lunar Eclipse , Moon , Total Lunar Eclipse
Categories: Naked Eye Astronomy

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

This file on Zenodo ( image 4.19 MB)


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