Olympus digital camera, 11mm lens, 400 ASA, 20 images stacked by Alec Kennedy.
Dark sky site, Kohukohu, August 2006
The camera was on a tripod: no tracking, 20 second exposure for each image.
Post processing by John Wattie.
The head of the "emu" is the Coal Sack, which is next to the Southern Cross.
The emu's body and tail is in Scorpio.
Our milky way galaxy, like other spiral glaxies, has a central band of dust which blocks the light of stars beyond it.
The "emu" was named by Australian Aboriginal people.
There is a story that indiginous South America people call it the Rhea, but that is not guaranteed and further information is being looked for to confirm or deny that.
Return to Southern Cross