This is the Zodiacal Light, at dawn, as seen from the Atacama Lodge, San Pedro do Atacama, Chile, on May 6, 2011. The Milky Way is overhead but the Zodiacal Light reaches up from the eastern horizon as a vertical glow visible before dawn at this time of year. Light from the observers flashlights lights up the foreground. This is a stack of two 3-minute exposures at f/2.8 with a 15mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800.
The Amazing Sky 