Star Trails from
Starry Nights
This is an exposure of approximately 2 hours using a very wide-angle (17mm) camera lens. Polaris, the North Star, is visible throught the tree on the left. The three blue belt stars of Orion are on the far right. Saturn is the brightest trail, rising from the horizon to the right of middle. You can make out my telescope & equipment on the bottom -- the red light is from the dim red flashlight I use to avoid ruining my dark-adapted night vision. Notice the van on the lower right. The skyglow (near the horizon in the Northeast) is from Austin, about 50 miles away.
This photo gives you a good idea about how the sky "works." The North Star doesn't move much. Nearby stars appear to rotate in tight circles about Polaris. As you move further away from North, the apparent motion is more linear. The stars in Orion are moving in nearly straight lines. Further to the South, the circles actually curve in the opposite direction.
Starry Nights B&B, Wimberly TX, October, 2001
Photo by Dick Locke
120 minute exposure using a tripod & cable
release
Tokina 17mm f3.5 lens at f5.6, OM2n camera
Kodak Royal Gold 100 print film
Negative Scan, Nikon Coolscan IV ED, Processed
in Photoshop
Copyright ©
2000- 2003 Dick Locke.
All Rights Reserved. Send email if interested in using images found
on this website.
You can reach me by e-mail at: Dick Locke <rlocke1@houston.rr.com>
Click Here to email
Dick.
hits since 6/13/2003 update.