The European Southern Observatory’s various sites in Chile — Paranal, La Silla, Chajnantor — boast enviably low levels of light pollution. However, the skies overhead are rarely pitch-black! As shown in this image of Paranal Observatory, the skies regularly display a myriad of colours and astronomical sights, from the plane of the Milky Way shining brightly overhead to the orange-hued speck of Mars (left), the starry constellations of Scorpius and Orion, and the magenta splash of the Carina Nebula (upper middle). Despite the remote location there are also occasional signs of human activity — for example, the sequence of lamps seen in the center of the frame. These faint lights illuminate the route from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), where this image was taken. Due to the highly sensitive camera used, this photograph also showcases a mysterious phenomenon called airglow. The night sky is ablaze with deep red and eerie green hues, caused by the faint glow of Earth’s atmosphere. Because of airglow, no observatory site on Earth can ever be absolutely, completely dark — although ESO’s do come pretty close. This image was taken by the astronomer and photographer Yuri Beletsky, a member of the 2016 ESO Fulldome Expedition team. This team visited Chile to gather spectacular images for use in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Center. (ESO public domain photograph)
Another interesting item about The Expanse, and the role of Latter-day Saints in both the novels and the SyFy series built upon them:
Incidentally, just a reminder: Today marks the beginning of the two-day annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you attend, be prepared for protesters, some of whom will be civil and some of whom, most likely, won’t be. And be prepared, even if you don’t attend, for online expressions of anger, snide comments, mockery, attacks, derision, outrage, and cynicism from critics of Mormonism.
But remember how seriously to take much of what they write. After all, today is also April Fool’s Day.
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