The Milky Way galaxy arcs across the night sky in this magnificent view from the Azores, a chain of nine volcanic islands near Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean.
Astrophotographer Miguel Claro of Lisbon took the image from São Miguel Island in the Azores on April 5.
"One of the islands is São Miguel, where we can find a beautiful lake in the crater center, called Lake of Fire, 'Lagoa do Fogo.' Above it, the sky reveals the magnificent arc of our galaxy, the Milky Way, besides the light pollution coming from Vila Franca do Campo, a small town at the southern shore of the island, that illuminates the clouds near the horizon with the an orange tone," Claro wrote in an email to Space.com. [Amazing Stargazing Photos of May 2014]
Claro used a Canon 60Da – ISO2500; 24mm at f/2 with an exposure of 20 seconds to create this 21-image mosaic.
Visible from left to right are the Cygnus (Swan) constellation, with its North America nebula (NGC7000) clearly visible below the star Deneb. Down to the right, is the constellation Aquila. Sagittarius is covered by the cloud. Near the right side is Scorpius and its super giant star, Antares. The planet Saturn, meanwhile, is visible along the right edge of the image, in the constellation Libra.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
Follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original story on Space.com.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
