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Credit & Copyright: Zheng Zhi
Explanation:
Stars trail through a clear morning sky in
this postcard from
a rotating planet.
The timelapse image is constructed from consecutive exposures made
over nearly three hours with a camera fixed to a tripod beside
the Forbidden City in Beijing, China on June 24.
Arcing above the eastern horizon after the series of
exposures began,
a waning crescent Moon left the brightest streak and watery reflection.
On that date the
planets
of the Solar System
were also
lined up along
the ecliptic
and left their own trails before sunrise.
Saturn was first to rise on that morning and the ringed planet's trail
starts close to the top right edge, almost out of the frame.
Innermost planet Mercury rose only just before the Sun though.
It left the shortest trail, visible against the twilight
near the horizon at the far left.
Uranus and Neptune are faint and hard to find,
but mingled with the star trails the
Solar
System's
planet trails are all labeled in the scene.
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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: planet - planetary alignment
Publications with words: planet - planetary alignment
See also: