Thomas O'Brien sent SPACE.com this image of the Milky Way over Machu Picchu on July 4, 2013. He captured the photo from Putucusi Mountain, which is located across the Urubamba River Valley from the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru. Machu Picchu is the dark, saddle-shaped area between mountains on right side of the image where the arc of the Milky Way intersects with the horizon.
Credit: Thomas O'Brien | www.tmophoto.com
The Milky Way, our own galaxy containing the solar system, is a barred spiral galaxy with roughly 400 billion stars. The stars, along with gas and dust, appear like a band of light in the sky from Earth. The galaxy stretches between 100,000 to 120,000 light-years in diameter.
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