Astronomy Picture of the Day 12-25-02

NASA ^ | 12-25-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 December 25

Orion Rising
Credit & Copyright: Jimmy Westlake (Colorado Mountain College)

Explanation: Orion always comes up sideways ... and was caught in the act earlier this month by astronomer Jimmy Westlake, stargazing eastward over the Rocky Mountains north of Leadville, Colorado, USA. To make this gorgeous image, Westlake placed his camera on a tripod for two exposures. The first lasted for 18 minutes allowing the stars to trail as they rose above the mountain range. After a minute long pause, the second exposure began and lasted only 25 seconds decorating the end of each trail with a celestial point of light. The three bright stars in Orion's belt stand in a nearly vertical line above the mountain peak right of center. Hanging from his belt, the stars and nebulae of the Hunter's sword follow the slope down and to the right. A festive yellow-orange Betelgeuse is the brightest star above the peak just left of center, but brighter still, planet Saturn shines near the upper left corner. In the foreground on planet Earth, a frozen lake and snowy mountains are lit by a four day old crescent Moon. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes from APOD!

[petuniasevan]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[petuniasevan]

[sistergoldenhair]

And Merry Christmas to you.

Beautiful pic.

[MeekOneGOP]

Merry Christmas to you, my FRiend !

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

WOW! I've never seen the color of the stars so pronounced in a star trail pic - was it processed somehow, or is this how the originla looked?

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

originla = original

[petuniasevan]

I honestly don't know. I can't find a source for the image (not on the CMC website, anyway). Some film types are more red-sensitive than others.

I did find contact info for the photographer, if you want to ask him.

Jimmy Westlake's page at the CMC site:
http://faculty.coloradomtn.edu/jwestlake/

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Thanks for the info!

[Soaring Feather]

Orion Rising

Beautiful!

Thank you!

Merry Christmas

[SuziQ]

My kids and I agree that that picture is just COOL!!
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and want to thank you for bringing us such pleasure looking at all the neat pictures each day!

[RightWhale]

the color of the stars so pronounced in a star trail pic

Kodak Ektachrome slide [transparency] film will do that; very sensitive to color. Other brands of slide film may do that also.

[Mr. K]

does anyone know if you can take night time exposure photos like this with a digital camera???

all my attempts to photograph the moon have resulted in a black photo with a white blob

thanks!

[RightWhale]

Search the Internet on "CCD" - Charge Coupled Device. Astronomers have been attaching these to their telescopes for years.