Against the Lights

The southern Milky Way is pictured over Hanga Roa, the main town in the Easter Island, Pacific Ocean. When the lights are not shielded in a right way or not directed toward the ground the light pollution from even a small town like this can interfere with beauty of the natural sky. Our neighboring dwarf galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic clouds, are visible through the light glow of Hanga Roa. The foreground statue is one of many similar human figures (known as a Moai) found at this World Heritage Site. They are dating back to 1250 to 1500 AD.