A Starry Night of Azores

The Milky Way over the Furnas crater lake in the Sao Miguel island of Azores, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean. On the lower right are constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius, towards the bright galactic center. In the middle top are the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle: Altair (in Aquila), Vega (in Lyra), and Deneb (in Cygnus).

Click on the second photo to see a colorful panoramic view of the caldera just before sunrise. Furnas hosts one of the three active volcanoes on the island. Furnas is home also to several thousand people living within and around its caldera. Being one of the most beautiful sights it is also considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the archipelago (last eruption was in 1630 AD).