Look in the center between lightning & fireworks!
Explanation: Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from
Perth,
Australia gathered on a local beach to
watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of
Australia Day celebrations. On the far right,
lightning from a
thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image centre, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all:
Comet McNaught. The
photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught continues to move out from the Sun and dim, but should remain
visible in southern skies with binoculars through the end of this month. The
above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding
firework.