A Deep Sky Behind an Eclipsed Moon

The plan was to take a picture of a part of the sky that was hosting an unusual guest. An additional and unexpected guest was included in the result. The center of the image features the clouds of Rho Ophiuchi and part of the central band of the Milky Way. The image was taken during last week's total lunar eclipse and was expected to be an unusual guest. The moon would be so bright that it would overwhelm the background. There was a bright meteor across the image center. The fleeting meteor streak was captured on only one of the 10 images from La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands, while the Moon image was taken immediately afterwards with the same camera and from the same location. The next total lunar eclipse is expected to take place in early November.

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There is a spectacular star formation in the center of the Lagoon Nebula. At least two long funnel-shaped clouds, each roughly half a light-year long, have been formed by extreme stellar winds and intense energetic starlight near the image center. Herschel 36 is a bright star. There are walls of dust that hide hot young stars. Shear winds may cause the funnels as the energy from the stars pours into the cool dust and gas. This picture was taken in about 10 light years and has images taken in six different colors. The Lagoon Nebula is 5000 light years away from the constellation of the Sagittarius.