Australia Day photo

[snopes]

I don't remember if we did this one before:

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Comment: It was taken in Perth (for anyone that knows Perth, it was between Hillary's and Pinaroo Point, facing South) on Australia Day. It was taken at about 9:15pm and shows crowds gathered on the beach to watch a fireworks display over a marina. To the right you can see a thunderstorm rolling in with accompanying lightening. In the center is McNaught's Comet.

Fireworks, Lightning, Sunset, a Comet, and the greatest of Aussie icons; the Beach - all in one image. Awesome!!!


Comment: Great shot taken on Australia Day (26th Jan 2007) in Perth

Check out this awesome photo - this one deserves an award. Fireworks,
Lightning, Sunset, a Comet, and the greatest of Aussie icons, the Beach all
in one image.

In addition to the obvious features in the photo, look between the two
displays of lighting up the sky to see the third - McNaught's Comet.

The photo was taken just north of Hillary's Marina, which you can see the
harbour wall on the left with fireworks being launched.



Larger version here

[snopes]

Seems to have been covered a bit here: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070205.html

- snopes

[Richard W]

Australia seems to specialize in lightning strikes in the distance like that. I've not been to Perth but I saw quite a similar scene in Melbourne, during an outdoor film screening by the beach at St. Kilda. There was a storm on the horizon over Port Phillip Bay, and the lightning gave a very similar effect. No fireworks, though, and I'm not nearly a good enough photographer to have been able to take a picture like that.

(The film was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, for what it's worth...)

[Mosherette]

I've seen it somewhere before but I can't for the life of me think where. IIRC it's a long exposure shot, not a snap, and IIRC again it's more than one photo spliced together.

ETA: one day I'll learn to read properly like. From snopes' second post's link: "The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework."

I was wondering when that picture would show up here. I was browsing the APOD and saw it last week.

The Astronomy Picture of the Day site has loads of great pictures. It should be on all Snopster's list of reference sites.

I can imagine someone circulating this one too.


There is also a link to several home videos of the meteor which caused it.