The Double Act of Equator Sky

The southern Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud (our neighboring dwarf galaxy) are photographed over Mount Kilimanjaro in a dark night of Amboseli National Park, southern Kenya. Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky, is on the right, outshone by Sirius (top), our brightest night-time star. Carina Nebula is the red cloud in the Milky Way. On the left, the Zodiacal Light (sunlight scattered by dust in the Solar System) appears at the beginning of dawn, along the constellations Leo and Virgo.
From the photographer: “If you travel to a dark sky site not too far from the equator, a bright double act by the Milky Way and Zodiacal Light is very dramatic. Another less conspicuous double act for this scene is performed by comets Lovejoy and ISON. Both were 5th magnitude objects at the time, and appear as little green halos in close up of this image.” © Tunc Tezel