The galaxy over a black Icelandic beach
In the photograph you can see our galaxy over the basalt stacks of Reynisdrangar, south Iceland. Photo/ Stéphane Vetter
An astounding photo by French photographer Stéphane Vetter is picture of the week on Stjörnufræðivefurinn, Iceland's foremost astronomic website. The photo shows the billions of stars in our own galaxy disappearing into the light of dawn.
Reynisdrangar are two basalt sea stacks situated underneath the Reynisfjall mountain on the black shores of Vík in Mýrdalur, south Iceland.
The brightest star in the photo is Vega,the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, and to the left is another bright star, Deneb , the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus. Next to Deneb on the left at eight o'clock is the reddish glow of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula.
Vetter is an award-winning photographer and won best picture in an international nature photography contest in 2011 for a photograph of the northern lights above Jökulsárlón, Iceland.
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