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OUT OF THIS WORLD

Breathtaking images reveal the beauty of the Milky Way in photos taken from remote desert sand dunes

Incredible images were caught in Abu Dhabi by photographer Sebastian Tontsch

THESE stunning shots capture the beauty of the Milky Way above the deserts of Abu Dhabi. 

The incredible set of pictures was taken by landscape photographer Sebastian Tontsch on the sand dunes of the Arab emirate.

Sebastian Tontsch took the stunning set of photographs from the deserts of Abu Dhabi
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Sebastian Tontsch took the stunning set of photographs from the deserts of Abu DhabiCredit: Caters News Agency
Low levels of light pollution means the Milky Way can be observed more clearly than in most parts of Western Europe
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Low levels of light pollution means the Milky Way can be observed more clearly than in most parts of Western EuropeCredit: Caters News Agency
The Milky Way is just one of many galaxies that make up the universe
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The Milky Way is just one of many millions of galaxies that make up the universeCredit: Caters News Agency
And the Milky Way alone is estimated to have at least one trillion stars
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Our galaxy alone is estimated to contain a mind-blowing one trillion stars and planetsCredit: Caters News Agency

Views of the night sky can often be obscured in Britain by heavy light pollution.

But the desolate reaches of the United Arab Emirates desert near Al Quaa afford some of the best views in the world of the cloud-like tail of the galaxy.

The Milky Way – in which the Earth’s solar system is found - is just one of many galaxies that form the universe.

But it still contains an estimated ONE TRILLION stars - each like the Sun.

An estimated 100 BILLION planets span the 100,000 light-year-wide system.

This light demonstrates how even a small amount of light can obscure thousands of stars in the sky
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This light demonstrates how even a small amount of light can obscure thousands of stars in the skyCredit: Caters News Agency
The photos were taken on the remote sand dunes in an area of the UAE called Al Quaa
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The photos were taken on the remote sand dunes in an area of the UAE called Al QuaaCredit: Caters News Agency
The Milky Way was first observed by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610
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The Milky Way was first observed by Italian astronomer and polymath Galileo Galilei back in 1610Credit: Caters News Agency

The Milky Way's name comes from its cloudy appearance, caused by the light of densely packed stars merging together.

It was first identified by Italian polymath Galileo Galilei in 1610.

American astronomer Edwin Hubble later proved that the Milky Way was just one of many galaxies in the universe.

He had the famed Hubble Telescope  - which has captured many iconic images of space - named in his honour when it was launched in 1990.

Edwin Hubble later made the discovery that there are many more galaxies in the universe
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Edwin Hubble later made the discovery that there are many more galaxies across the universeCredit: Caters News Agency
Each one has many billions of stars, like the Sun in Earth's Solar System
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Each one of them has many billions of stars with planets orbiting them, like the Sun in Earth's Solar SystemCredit: Caters News Agency


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