The Milky Way becomes a midnight rainbow across the sky in the stunning panorama.
This image was taken by astrophotographer Amit Kamble from the historic Māori site Opotaka, looking towards Mount Tongariro and Lake Rotoaira, on the way back to Auckland from StellarFest 2014 at Foxton Beach on July 27. Kamble wrote that while the night was very cold, the beauty of the environment pushed him to stay.
"I'd rather stand there in freezing cold, enjoy the serenity of the historic Maori place, enjoy the Milky Way and all the shooting stars then go back and sit in the car to warm up,” Kamble wrote in an email to Space.com. [More Stunning Photos of the Milky Way ]
The image shows out host galaxy, the Milky Way, along with the Small and the Large Magellanic Clouds. Airglow in green and red is also visible around the horizon. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one-tenth the size of the Milky Way, and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is just half that size. As both are relatively close to our own galaxy, they appear quite large.
Kamble used a Canon 6Dwith 20sec, ISO 6400, f2.8 using Samyang 24mm.
To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.
Editor's Note: This article was updated on Aug. 15, 2014. 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.
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