Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward
Explanation:
What's happened to the sky?
A time warp, of sorts, and a digital space warp too.
The time
warp occurs because
this image
captured in a single frame a four hour
exposure
of the night sky.
As a result, prominent
star trails are visible.
The space warp occurs because the picture is actually a full
360 degree panorama, horizontally
compressed to fit your browser.
As the Earth rotated,
stars appeared to
circle both the South
Celestial Pole,
on the left, and the
North Celestial Pole,
just below the horizon on the right.
The image
captured the sky over
Mudgee,
New South Wales,
Australia,
including the domes of two large telescopes illuminated by red lighting.
A horizontally unwarped image is visible by clicking on the image.
Total Solar Eclipse Today:
Times
and Visibility |
Webcast
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star trail - celestial pole
Publications with words: star trail - celestial pole
See also: