                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2023 September 22

                            Cosmos in Reflection
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

   Explanation: During the day, over 12,000 large mirrors reflect sunlight
   at the 100-megawatt, molten-salt, solar thermal power plant at the
   western edge of the Gobi desert near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
   Individual mirror panels turn to track the sun like sunflowers. They
   conspire to act as a single super mirror reflecting the sunlight toward
   a fixed position, the power station's central tower. During the night
   the mirrors stand motionless though. They reflect the light of the
   countless distant stars, clusters and nebulae of the Milky Way and
   beyond. This sci-fi night skyscape was created with a camera fixed to a
   tripod near the edge of the giant mirror matrix on September 15. The
   camera's combined sequence of digital exposures captures concentric
   arcs of celestial star trails through the night with star trails in
   surreal mirrored reflection.

               Tomorrow's picture: analog analemma's afternoon
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

