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Michael KingThe skies here have been uncharacteristically clear for this time of year. I returned to Flinders Blowhole on Monday evening and captured this image of the Milky Way rising over coast and Bass Strait. <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/photography?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/astrophotography?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/seascape?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#seascape</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/milkyway?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#milkyway</a>

grobiStars Trail over Ragusa * Image Credit & Copyright: Gianni TuminoExplanation: In trying times, stars still trail in the night. Taken on March 14, this night skyscape was made by combining 230 exposures each 15 seconds long to follow the stars' circular paths. The camera was fixed to a tripod on an isolated terrace near the center of Ragusa, Italy, on the island of Sicily. But the night sky was shared around the rotating planet. A friend to celestial navigators and astrophotographers alike Polaris, the north star, makes the short bright trail near the center of the concentric celestial arcs.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200328.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200328.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a>

grobiThe Solar System's Planet Trails * Image Credit & Copyright: Zheng ZhiExplanation: 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.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220701.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220701.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a>

grobiRoots on a Rotating Planet * Image Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace <a href="https://greenflash.photo/about-me/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://greenflash.photo/about-me/</a>Explanation: With roots on a rotating planet, an old tree is centered in this sequence of 137 exposures each 20 seconds long, recorded one night from northern Sicily. Digital camera and fisheye lens were fixed to a tripod to capture the dramatic timelapse, so the stars trailed through the region's dark sky. Of course that makes it easy to spot the planet's north celestial pole. The extension of Earth's axis of rotation into space is toward the upper left, at the center of the concentric star trail arcs. The Milky Way is there too. The plane of our galaxy stretches across the wide field of view from north to east (left to right) creating a broader luminous band of diffuse starlight. >>>> <a href="https://greenflash.photo/portfolio/theatre-optique/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://greenflash.photo/portfolio/theatre-optique/</a><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220708.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220708.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a>

grobiCosmos in Reflection * Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN) <a href="https://twanight.org/profile/jeff-dai/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://twanight.org/profile/jeff-dai/</a>Explanation: During the day, over 12,000 large mirrors reflect sunlight at the 100-megawatt, molten-salt, solar thermal power plant at the western edge of the Gobi desert near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. Individual mirror panels turn to track the sun like sunflowers. They conspire to act as a single super mirror reflecting the sunlight toward a fixed position, the power station's central tower. During the night the mirrors stand motionless though. They reflect the light of the countless distant stars, clusters and nebulae of the Milky Way and beyond. This sci-fi night skyscape was created with a camera fixed to a tripod near the edge of the giant mirror matrix on September 15. The camera's combined sequence of digital exposures captures concentric arcs of celestial star trails through the night with star trails in surreal mirrored reflection.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230922.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230922.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobi11 Hour Star Trails * Credit & Copyright: Josch HambschExplanation: Fix your camera to a tripod, lock the shutter open, and you can make an image of star trails - graceful concentric arcs traced by the stars as planet Earth rotates on its axis. Of course, the length of the star trails will depend on the exposure time. While exposures lasting just five minutes produce a significant arc, in about 12 hours a given star would trace out half a circle. But in any long exposure, the background glow from light-polluted skies can build up to wash out the trails. Still, astronomer Josch Hambsch produced this stunning composite of star trails around the South Celestial Pole with an effective "all night" exposure time of almost 11 hours. To do it, he combined 128 consecutive five minute long digital exposures recorded in very dark night skies above Namibia. In his final image, the background glow on the right is due in part to the faint, arcing Milky Way. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060915.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060915.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiAnnapurna Star Trails * Credit & Copyright: Wang Jinglei, Jia HaoExplanation: In myth, Atlas holds up the heavens. But in this moonlit mountainscape, peaks of the Himalayan Annapurna Range appear to prop up the sky as seen from Ghandruk, Nepal. From left to right the three main peaks are Annapurna South (7,219 meters), Hiunchuli (6,441 meters), and Machapuchare (6,995 meters). Of course the mountains are moving not the stars, the Earth's rotation about its axis causing the concentric star trails recorded in the time exposure. Positioned above Annapurna South, the North Celestial Pole is easily identified as the point at the center of all the star trail arcs. The star Polaris, also known as the North Star, made the very short and bright arc closest to the North Celestial Pole. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091128.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091128.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiWarped Sky: Star Trails Panorama * Credit & Copyright: Peter WardExplanation: 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. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100711.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100711.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiSouth Pole Star Trails * Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Schwarz (South Pole Station)Explanation: No star dips below the horizon and the Sun never climbs above it in this remarkable image of 24 hour long star trails. Showing all the trails as complete circles, such an image could be achieved only from two places on planet Earth. This example was recorded during the course of May 1, 2012, the digital camera in a heated box on the roof of MAPO, the Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory at the South Pole. Directly overhead in the faint constellation Octans is the projection of Earth's rotational axis, the South Celestial Pole, at the center of all the star trail circles. Not so well placed as Polaris and the North Celestial Pole, the star leaving the small but still relatively bright circle around the South Celestial Pole is Beta Hydri. The inverted umbrella structure on the horizon at the right of the allsky field of view is the ground shield for the SPUD telescope. A shimmering apparition of the aurora australis also visited on this 24 hour night.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120802.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120802.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiStar Trails above Table Mountain * Image Credit & Copyright: Eric NathanExplanation: Stars trail above and urban lights sprawl below in this moonlit nightscape from Cape Town, South Africa, planet Earth. The looming form of Table Mountain almost seems to hold terrestrial lights at bay while the stars circle the planet's South Celestial Pole. This modern perspective on the natural night sky was captured in June 2014, the scene composed of over nine hundred, stacked 30 second exposures. The stunning result was chosen as the winner in the Against the Lights category, a selection from over 800 entries in The World at Night's 2015 International Earth and Sky Photo Contest.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150625.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150625.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiStar Trails at Dawn * Credit & Copyright: Koen van GorpExplanation: Just fix your camera to a tripod and you too can make an image of graceful trails traced by the stars as planet Earth rotates on its axis. Made on September 14 from Montlaux, France, this wide-angle view nicely shows the stars near the celestial equator tracing nearly straight lines in projection, while stars north and south of the equator, respectively, appear to circle the north and south celestial poles. Featured are the stars of Orion (right of center), brilliant Venus rising (left) as bright star Sirius rises in the south (bottom center), and a polar orbiting Iridium satellite (upper left). Beautiful dawn sky colors seem painted along the horizon. This remarkable picture was constructed from 477 consecutive 30 second digital exposures recorded over 4.3 hours and later combined<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071208.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071208.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiHaute-Provence Star Trails * Credit & Copyright: Alexandre Santerne / OHP-CNRSExplanation: Fix your camera to a tripod and you can record the graceful trails traced by the stars as planet Earth rotates on its axis. For example, this dramatic 5 hour long exposure was made on February 24 from Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP) in southeastern France. Actually a composite of 300 consecutive 1-minute exposures, the image nicely shows stars near the celestial equator tracing nearly straight lines in projection, while stars north and south of the equator, respectively, appear to circle the north and south celestial poles. Domes at the bottom left and right house the OHP telescopes. Brilliant planet Venus makes the short bright trail at the lower right, while trails of stars in the constellation Orion end near the lower right observatory dome. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major, traces the bright arc over the dome at the left. Astronomer Alexandre Santerne also briefly illuminated a foreground oak tree during the exposure sequence.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090314.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090314.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiNorth Celestial Tree * Image Credit & Copyright: Jerónimo LosadaExplanation: If you climbed this magnificent tree, it looks like you could reach out and touch the North Celestial Pole at the center of all the star trail arcs. The well-composed image was recorded over a period of nearly 2 hours as a series of 30 second long, consecutive exposures on the night of October 5. The exposures were made with a digital camera fixed to a tripod near Almaden de la Plata, province of Seville, in southern Spain, planet Earth. Of course, the graceful star trails reflect the Earth's daily rotation around its axis. By extension, the axis of rotation leads to the center of the concentric arcs in the night sky. Convenient for northern hemisphere night sky photographers and celestial navigators alike, the bright star Polaris is very close to the North Celestial Pole and so makes the short bright trail in the central gap between the leafy branches. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131023.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131023.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiA Night at Poker Flat * Image Credit: NASA / Jamie AdkinsExplanation: Four NASA suborbital sounding rockets leapt into the night on January 26, from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range. This time lapse composite image follows all four launches of the small, multi-stage rockets to explore winter's mesmerizing, aurora-filled skies. During the exposures, stars trailed around the North Celestial Pole, high above the horizon at the site 30 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. Lidar, beams of pulsed green lasers, also left traces through the scene. Operating successfully, the payloads lofted were two Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Turbulence Experiments (M-TeX) and two Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) experiments, creating vapor trails at high altitudes to be tracked by ground-based observations. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1501/PFlatLaunch_compositeJan26_0.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1501/PFlatLaunch_compositeJan26_0.jpg</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiThe Windmill and the Star Trails * Image Credit & Copyright: Antonio GonzalezExplanation: Stars can't turn these old wooden arms, but it does look like they might in this scene from a rotating planet. The well-composed night skyscape was recorded from Garafia, a municipality on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, planet Earth. The center of the once working windmill, retired since 1953, is lined-up with the north celestial pole, the planet's rotation axis projected on to the northern sky. From a camera fixed to a tripod, the star trails are a reflection of the planet's rotation traced in a digital composite of 39 sequential exposures each 25 seconds long. Brought out by highlighting the final exposure in the sequence, the stars themselves appear at the ends of their short concentric arcs. A faint band of winter's Milky Way and even a diffuse glow from our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy also shine in the night.<a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200417.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200417.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiNorth Celestial Aurora * Image Credit & Copyright: Chirag UpretiExplanation: Graceful star trail arcs reflect planet Earth's daily rotation in this colorful night skyscape. To create the timelapse composite, on May 12 consecutive exposures were recorded with a camera fixed to a tripod on the shores of the Ashokan Reservoir, in the Catskills region of New York, USA. North star Polaris is near the center of the star trail arcs. The broad trail of a waxing crescent Moon is on the left, casting a strong reflection across the reservoir waters. With intense solar activity driving recent geomagnetic storms, the colorful aurora borealis or northern lights, rare to the region, shine under Polaris and the north celestial pole. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240518.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240518.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiSky Full of Arcs * Image Credit & Copyright: Rory GannawayExplanation: On August 11 a Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched from a rotating planet. With a small satellite on board its mission was dubbed A Sky Full of SARs (Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites), departing for low Earth orbit from Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand's north island. The fiery trace of the Electron's graceful launch arc is toward the east in this southern sea and skyscape, a composite of 50 consecutive frames taken over 2.5 hours. Fixed to a tripod, the camera was pointing directly at the South Celestial Pole, the extension of planet Earth's axis of rotation in to space. But no bright star marks that location in the southern hemisphere's night sky. Still, the South Celestial Pole is easy to spot. It lies at the center of the concentric star trail arcs that fill the skyward field of view. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240817.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240817.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiStar Trails of the North and South * Image Credit & Copyright: Saeid ParchiniExplanation: What divides the north from the south? It all has to do with the spin of the Earth. On Earth's surface, the equator is the dividing line, but on Earth's sky, the dividing line is the Celestial Equator -- the equator's projection onto the sky. You likely can't see the Earth's equator around you, but anyone with a clear night sky can find the Celestial Equator by watching stars move. Just locate the dividing line between stars that arc north and stars that arc south. Were you on Earth's equator, the Celestial Equator would go straight up and down. In general, the angle between the Celestial Equator and the vertical is your latitude. The featured image combines 325 photos taken every 30 seconds over 162 minutes. Taken soon after sunset earlier this month, moonlight illuminates a snowy and desolate scene in northwest Iran. The bright streak behind the lone tree is the planet Venus setting. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200212.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200212.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

grobiTOPIC>A Path North * Image Credit & Copyright: Mario KonangExplanation: What happens if you keep going north? The direction north on the Earth, the place on your horizon below the northern spin pole of the Earth -- around which other stars appear to slowly swirl, will remain the same. This spin-pole-of-the-north will never move from its fixed location on the sky -- night or day -- and its height will always match your latitude. The further north you go, the higher the north spin pole will appear. Eventually, if you can reach the Earth's North Pole, the stars will circle a point directly over your head. Pictured, a four-hour long stack of images shows stars trailing in circles around this north celestial pole. The bright star near the north celestial pole is Polaris, known as the North Star. The bright path was created by the astrophotographer's headlamp as he zigzagged up a hill just over a week ago in Lower Saxony, Germany. The astrophotographer can be seen, at times, in shadow. Actually, the Earth has two spin poles -- and much the same would happen if you started below the Earth's equator and went south. <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200407.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200407.html</a><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#earth</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/astroart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astroart</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#art</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nature</a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#education</a>

ESOWe have webcams keeping watch over the construction site of our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/Chile" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Chile</a>. They give us images like this one, showing the ELT progress so far & the exciting skies above 🤩The dome has two giant doors that will open at night, and the structure of both of them is now in place.In the background, a bright meteor crosses the sky, while powerful lasers beam up into the sky from Paranal Observatory. Do you know what they are for? Find out here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_QC2cLroDc" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_QC2cLroDc</a>More about this image: <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2520a/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2520a/</a>📷 ESO<a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/astrodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrodon</a> <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/astronomy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astronomy</a> <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/astrophysics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophysics</a> <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/space" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#space</a> <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#science</a> <a href="https://astrodon.social/tags/astrophotography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#astrophotography</a>

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