Back in November 2024, I witnessed an unusual equatorial view: In the morning sky just before dawn, the planet Jupiter appeared in a seemingly pyramid shape of two sky belts, the Zodiacal Light and the Milky Way. The image from Soneva Jani Island, Maldives (where I was invited as visit astronomer for a short term), shows this wide view and all hydrogen nebulae across the Milky Way over the turquoise lagoon.
Sky Pyramid over Indian Ocean
Also enjoy the set of other images from the same morning. The images also show all the well-known open clusters like Pleiades, Hyades, or Beehive one, bright stars like Sirius or Betelgeuse, and the hydrogen nebulae across the Milky Way over the turquoise lagoon, such as the Gum Nebula, Orion nebulas, or the Carina and California nebulae. What a memorable early morning!
Used Canon Ra, Sigma 35mm, f1.8, ISO 5000, panorama of 10s exposures from tripod; H-alpha captured with Astronomik H-alpha filter (with same lens and 30s exposures, used Vixen Polarie U).
