The
city lights outshine the stars in the
City That Never Sleeps. Who would have thought that the
Milky Way could be visible in this sky? This
image was taken with a filter that blocks most
visible light, capturing instead only light in the near-
infrared region of the
electromagnetic spectrum (with lower energy than visible light). The astrophotographer's
clever setup blocks most of the
light pollution from the city: old
incandescent light bulbs and some
neon lights are still
bright in the near-infrared, but
fluorescent and
LED light bulbs are not. Of course,
stars are also bright in the near-infrared! This image is a reminder that we all live
under the same sky, and astronomy allows all of us to learn more about
humanity's place in the Cosmos.