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In gallery: Astronomy Scattering Gegenschein

The gegenschein, or opposition light, can't get any more obvious than this! This photo was taken using a 16mm-fullframe fisheye lens and shows the opposition light as a patch of sky brightening near the center of the image. Mars is the bright dot to the right.

This photo was taken in central New Mexico, USA, at an elevation of about 1.8 km (5800 ft). The exposure was guided by an equatorial mount. The exposure time was about 1 hour at 800 ISO and f/2.8 aperture. (The mount was not perfectly aligned with the pole, and as a result the star field appears slightly rotated.) Only on the darkest of nights can you try such exposures! Nikon FE with Sigma f/2.8 16mm full-frame fisheye, Fuji Provia 400F pushed to 800 ISO.