Another Pole awarded by NASA. He was very lucky
NASA has once again distinguished a Pole as the author of the astronomical photo of the day. (Astronomy Picture of the Day). This time, the distinction went to Daniel Koszela for capturing the unique aurora borealis on May 11.
The author captured this view with the characteristic observatory located on the top of Śnieżka in the Karkonosze Mountains in the foreground. As the author himself points out in an interview with the Polish Press Agency, the photograph itself was created quite spontaneously and with great luck.
Nothing announced this success
As Koszela pointed out, when he saw the aurora alarms published, among others, by Karol Wójcicki, a popularizer of astronomy who runs the fanpage “With your head in the stars”. Although there were heavy clouds hovering over the Jelenia Góra Valley neighboring Śnieżka, the photographer decided to take a risk and go to the peak.
The journey to the top with a backpack storing his photographic equipment (it weighs on average 12-15 kg) took him about 2 hours. On the top However, he was rewarded for his efforts, and the aurora, as we know, was exceptionally good. It was visible all night long, also on the southern side of the sky. According to the author of the photo, there has never been a photograph that would present such a strong version of this phenomenon as a background for the cosmic-looking shelter on Śnieżka.
This is not the first distinction for Daniel Koszela, who has been a professional photographer for 12 years. Previously, he won, among others, 1st place – for the photo “Falling Skiers” – in the SPORT category in the prestigious Siena Drone Awards 2022 photo competition, as well as 3rd place for the photo of Snow White with the Moon, titled “Moon Base”, in the “Our Moon” category in the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020 competition. The website itself APOD, run by NASA, has also presented the distinction to other Poles in recent months – these were Marcin Rosadziński, Mariusz Durlej, Antoni Zegarski and Marcin Ślipko.