Credit & Copyright: David Malin
Explanation:
As the
Earth spins on its axis,
the sky seems to rotate around us.
This motion produces the beautiful concentric trails traced
by the stars in this time exposure of the night sky.
In the middle of the picture is the
North Celestial Pole (NCP), easily identified as
the point in the sky at the center of all the star trail arcs.
The very short bright trail
near the NCP was made by the
star Polaris,
commonly known as
the North Star.
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
|
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: north star - star trail
Publications with words: north star - star trail
See also: