August 21, 2007
The atoms in your body have known many forms: star core, drifting dust, ocean mineral, living cell.
A Red Dome Under the Big Dipper
Birthday · August 21, 2007
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APOD published August 21, 2007. Credit: M. Colleen Gino. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Why would the dome of a telescopic observatory appear translucent red? As one of the telescopes of the Etscorn Observatory of New Mexico Tech waited to inspect small portions of the night sky, playful observers decided to make this unusual image. Tricks needed to create this seemingly impossible shot included opening the observatory dome slightly, using a red light to illuminate the inside of the dome, spinning the dome, and using a long exposure. The open slit in the dome then allowed the camera to incrementally image the inside of the observatory, including the telescope. A fortuitous break in the clouds allowed the stars of the Big Dipper asterism to shine through.
Image credit: M. Colleen Gino