Shoreline of the Universe
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Bill Dickinson
Against dark rifts of
interstellar dust, the ebb and flow of starlight along the Milky Way
looks like waves breaking on a cosmic shore in this night skyscape.
Taken with a digital camera from the dunes of
Hatteras Island, North Carolina, planet Earth,
the monochrome image is
reminiscent of the time when
sensitive black and white film was a popular choice for dimly lit
night- and astro-photography.
Looking south, the bright stars of Sagittarius and
Scorpius are near the center of the frame.
Wandering Mars, Saturn, and
Zubenelgenubi
(Alpha Librae) form the compact triangle
of bright celestial beacons farther right of the galaxy's central bulge.
Of course, the evocative black and white beach scene could also
be from that vintage 1950s scifi movie you never saw,
"It
Came From Beyond the Dunes."