Volcano in Moonlight

Captured from Maunakea, home of Gemini North, one half of the international Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, this Image of the Week features a skyscape of Mauna Loa, the second-highest volcano on the island of Hawai‘i. It seems like a bright, sunny day, but on closer inspection you can see that the sky is actually full of stars, which are most visible toward the center of the image. This means that the photo was actually taken at night, and the blazing ball of light in the upper left is actually the Moon! The image is so incredibly well lit because of the exposure time and camera setting used by the photographer, which allowed the camera to collect so much moonlight that the scene appears to be a bright day.