Watch the Sky Rotate
Explanation:
If you could watch the sky for an entire night, what would you see?
The above time-lapse sequence from the
CONtinuous CAMera (CONCAM)
project shows the answer for the skies above
Kitt Peak National Observatory on
2000 December 23.
First and foremost stars
appear to orbit about
Polaris,
a star near the top of the image.
Actually, the
Earth is spinning under the sky,
and the camera is affixed to the Earth.
The diffuse band of light that moves across
the image is actually the
central disk of our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Identifiable objects
rotating across the frame include the
constellation of Orion, stars such as
Sirius and
Betelgeuse, and planets such as
Jupiter and
Saturn.
The
CONCAM project is deploying astronomical
quality web-cameras to
major observatories with
goals of starting a
continuous record of the sky
and helping astronomers using
large telescopes
monitor weather conditions remotely.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.