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Credit & Copyright: Anglo-Australian Observatory
Explanation:
As the Earth spins on its axis, the stars seem
to
rotate around us.
This motion produces the beautiful concentric arcs traced out by the
stars in
this time exposure of the southern hemisphere night sky.
In the foreground is the dome of the
Anglo-Australian Telescope
in central New South Wales, Australia.
In the middle of the picture is the South
Celestial Pole, the projection of
Earth's axis of rotation into the southern sky.
While the bright star
Polaris lies conveniently close to the
North Celestial Pole, no bright star similarly marks
the pole in the south.
Still, the South Celestial Pole is easily identified in the picture
as the point in the sky
at the center of all the
star trail arcs.
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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: Earth - star trail - celestial pole - star
Publications with words: Earth - star trail - celestial pole - star
See also:
- APOD: 2025 September 13 B Star Trails over One Mile Radio Telescope
- APOD: 2025 September 7 B All the Water on Planet Earth
- APOD: 2025 June 15 B Two Worlds One Sun
- APOD: 2025 June 11 B 25 Brightest Stars in the Night Sky
- Savudrija Star Trails
- APOD: 2024 December 29 B Methane Bubbles Frozen in Lake Baikal
- Interplanetary Earth