ESO (@esoastronomy@astrodon.social)

Planetary party portrait above Paranal!

In this image, taken in early February, the planets of the Solar System appear to parade one after the other above our Paranal Observatory in #Chile. Joining the party are the #Moon, the #MilkyWay, and a special guest: comet C/2024 G3 ☄️

A question we often get is whether the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane as the disc of the Milky Way. This image shows that's not the case: the plane of the Solar System –the ecliptic– is tilted about 60º relative to the Milky Way.

📷 B.Haeussler/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #astrophotography #space #science

The image is a circular fisheye projection, with the horizon around the circular edge and the highest part of the sky at the centre of the circle. It shows eight telescope domes around the edge. The moon lights the telescopes and the desert from behind, creating a haze across, but above it the sky is pretty dark and full of stars. Our Milky Way galaxy –– an arc made dense by white points and hues of pink and purple –– crosses the image vertically. Several planets, which look like dots, appear aligned more or less horizontally across the sky. The image is marked with text for white points of interest, including the Milky Way, planets and comet C/2024 G3, which looks like the streak of a shooting star, blazing white.

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