One of our favorite night sky photographers, Yuri Beletsky, captured this image of Chile’s Mano del Desierto, a huge sculpture of a hand – roughly 36 feet (11 meters) tall – in the Atacama Desert. It’s located about 47 miles (75 km) to the south of the city of Antofagasta, Chile. Yuri posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook on March 30, 2018, and wrote:
Hand of the Desert under the stars in Atacama desert :) It does look totally surreal at night! The Milky Way spans above the monument in its full glory, and the brightest stars of Southern Cross and Centaurus constellations are the crown jewels of the sky. We were lucky to witness beautiful greenish airglow too! Some artificial yellow lights are also visible. Would you go there? I hope you’ll enjoy the view. Nikon, D810a.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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