NASA Picture of the Day: From a Staircase to the Milky Way

In its Picture of the Day, NASA has published a striking image of a staircase that appears to lead up to the sky and the Milky Way galaxy.

This staircase in Chile brings you a little closer to the sky; But the view of its sky will make you wonder.

According to Ambassador Arjan, in this image we can see the band of our own Milky Way galaxy rising above the vast desert of Atacama in Chile, or you can look at the band of "Erozoal light" on the upper left side of the image, the green and red glow of the atmosphere just above the horizon, the star "Bejubin" or "Spica" in the middle of the light band of the ecliptic and on the upper right side, the galaxy "Small Magellanic Cloud".

This "desert staircase" is in the center of this image, and the image was timed to capture this spectacular location right in front of the nearly vertical band of the Milky Way.

Taking a closer look at the horizon, from left to right, parts of the Andes Mountains, Licancabor Volcano and the lights of San Pedro de Atacama can be discerned.

This wide-angle composite image was captured in July 2025.