Wilderness Portraits by Lloyd Paul Aiello

Jupiter Reflection and the Milky Way

The planet Jupiter is reflected in the Carrabassett River of northern Maine as it sets along with the Milky Way in late August. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in our Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun, but two-and-a-half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can be bright enough for its reflected light to cast shadows, and it is generally the fourth-brightest natural object in the sky after the Sun, Moon and Venus (although at times Mars can be brighter than Jupiter). Jupiter has 79 known moons.

The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in our Local Group, with its stellar disk approximately 100,000 light years in diameter and, on average, approximately 1,000 light years thick. The Milky Way is approximately 1.5 trillion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if our Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter (24.3 mm; 0.955 in), the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the entire contiguous United States. The Milky Way It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars and more than 100 billion planets.

This is a single image taken while standing in the middle of the Carrabassett River. The rocks were briefly illuminated with a headlamp during the 20 second exposure.

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Image Size: 5504x8256 / 221.2MB; www.WildernessPortraits.com; Carabasset River Carrabassett River Jupiter Kingfield Maine astronomical atmospheric black color descriptors format grey landscape master milky way night peaceful pine places plants remote river rocks season stars state-city-location summer things trees type vertical view water wilderness yellow
Contained in galleries: Nature at Night, Recent Additions, Favorite Wilderness Portraits Images, Landscapes

The planet Jupiter is reflected in the Carrabassett River of northern Maine as it sets along with the Milky Way in late August. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in our Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun, but two-and-a-half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can be bright enough for its reflected light to cast shadows, and it is generally the fourth-brightest natural object in the sky after the Sun, Moon and Venus (although at times Mars can be brighter than Jupiter). Jupiter has 79 known moons.<br />
<br />
The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in our Local Group, with its stellar disk approximately 100,000 light years in diameter and, on average, approximately 1,000 light years thick. The Milky Way is approximately 1.5 trillion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if our Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter (24.3 mm; 0.955 in), the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the entire contiguous United States. The Milky Way It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars and more than 100 billion planets.<br />
<br />
This is a single image taken while standing in the middle of the Carrabassett River. The rocks were briefly illuminated with a headlamp during the 20 second exposure.