Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
影像提供與版權：Antti Kemppainen
Explanation:
Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught. The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.
說明:
有時候，平凡的天空自己會上演一場精采的秀。2007年一月26日時，來自澳洲 伯斯的一群人聚集在沙灘上一起凝望著夜空，享受來自天空中的嚮宴。近處，有澳洲國慶施放的煙火；遠處，有雷雨系統產生的閃電。在影像中間，透過雲層，可以看到最罕見的光景：麥克諾特彗星。這顆閃亮的彗星實在是太亮了，因此，雖然天空中彌漫著喧囂的閃光，仍然可以看到它。麥克諾特彗星現在仍持續在遠離太陽，並越來越黯淡，但這個月在南半球還是可以利用雙筒望遠鏡觀測到它。上面的影像是由三張照片合成的全景圖，並且經過影像處理，降低其他地方反射煙火的紅光。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
