The Rhythm of the Spheres

It started with a pine tree. The idea was to photograph a statuesque pine in front of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy . And the plan, carried out two months ago, was successful -- they both appear prominently. But the resulting 3-frame panorama captured much more. Colorful stars , for example, dot the distant background, with bright Altair visible on the upper left. The planet Saturn , a bit closer, was captured just over the horizon on the far left. Just beyond the Earth's atmosphere , seen in the upper right, an Earth-orbiting satellite was caught leaving a streak during the 25-second exposure. The Earth's atmosphere itself was surprising ly visible -- as green airglow across the image top. Finally, just by chance, there was a firefly . Do you see it? Near the image bottom, the firefly blinked in yellow several times as it fluttered before the rolling hills above Milogradovka River in Primorsky Krai , Russia .

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