'Nothing short of magical': Astrophotographer captures Lyrid meteors beside the Milky Way
(Image credit: Josh Dury)Astrophotographer Josh Dury captured a stunning view of the Milky Way arcing through the night sky above Scotland's Isle of Skye, as shooting stars carved fiery paths through Earth's atmosphere."With my star tracker engaged, I sat on a small boulder with river water running between my feet — thank god I brought wellies!", Dury recalled in an email to Space.com. "The most magical moment of all, as with any experience with the stars, is when you know all is safe; the camera is running and then - turn off the red torch."Dury's composite image reveals several bright Lyrid meteors racing alongside the Milky Way, while colossal dust lanes darken the dense star fields along the galactic plane. A trio of waterfalls known as the "Three Brothers of Skye" glisten below, their waters taking on an ethereal, glassy appearance through long-exposure photography.Vega, the fifth brightest star in the night sky, shines near the top of the image, with the stars of the constellation Lyra. Below, sits Altair, while Deneb glows to the left, representing the tail of the great swan in the constellation Cygnus. Together, these stars form a famous asterism known as the Summer Triangle.
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