APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Post Reply
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5344
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Contact:

APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:05 am

Image Star Trails Over Indonesia

Explanation: Both land and sky were restless. The unsettled land included erupting Mount Semeru in the distance, the caldera of steaming Mount Bromo on the left, flowing fog, and the lights of moving cars along roads that thread between hills and volcanoes in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Indonesia. The stirring sky included stars circling the South Celestial Pole and a meteor streaking across the image right. The above 270-image composite was taken from King Kong Hill in mid-June over two hours, with a rising Moon lighting the landscape.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>
[/b]

User avatar
Nitpicker
Inverse Square
Posts: 2692
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 2:39 am
Location: S27 E153

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Nitpicker » Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:04 am

Magnificent image! Thank you.

marianya
Asternaut
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:37 am

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by marianya » Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:55 am

I live in Jakarta, Indonesia, and has several times visited the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, the scenery there is amazing but I have never seen anything like this, this is amazing

rwlott
Ensign
Posts: 39
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 7:05 pm

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by rwlott » Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:55 am

I'm curious to know what the diagonal white streak is that appears on the central face of Mount Semeru.

User avatar
Ron-Astro Pharmacist
Resistored Fizzacist
Posts: 889
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:34 pm
AKA: Fred
Location: Idaho USA

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Ron-Astro Pharmacist » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:49 pm

rwlott wrote:I'm curious to know what the diagonal white streak is that appears on the central face of Mount Semeru.
The "hills and volcanoes" link indicates the white line to be hikers on the trek up the volcano. Quite the photo composite!! Thanks for the beautiful look onto this part of our world and a glimpse into their skies.
Make Mars not Wars

User avatar
Psnarf
Science Officer
Posts: 320
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:19 pm

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Psnarf » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:52 pm

I noticed on the full-size image that the South Celestial Pole star remains a dot; in similar photographs, Polaris is off-center leaving a small streak. If the perceived motion of Polaris off center is the result of Earth's precession, why then doesn't the South Pole star wander as well?

User avatar
Psnarf
Science Officer
Posts: 320
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:19 pm

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Psnarf » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:09 pm

Nevermind. There is no bright star marking the South Celestial Pole. I learned that today, thus answering my own question.

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18109
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:12 pm

Psnarf wrote:I noticed on the full-size image that the South Celestial Pole star remains a dot; in similar photographs, Polaris is off-center leaving a small streak. If the perceived motion of Polaris off center is the result of Earth's precession, why then doesn't the South Pole star wander as well?
There is no central star in this image, just a couple of dim ones very close to the SCP. They do show very short trails.

The motion of Polaris over the course of a day has nothing to do with precession. It is simply that Polaris lies 0.7° from the NCP. Over long periods, precession results in the position of the NCP changing against the background stars, meaning that Polaris isn't permanently close to the pole.

North or south, there are stars extremely close to the poles. In the north, Polaris is the closest which is visible without aid. In the south, the closest star to the pole that can (barely, and not by everyone) be seen with the naked eye is more than a degree from the pole.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

Boomer12k
:---[===] *
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:07 am

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Boomer12k » Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:43 pm

WOW....what a picture...so much going on...at first, I thought it was AN ARTIST'S RENDITION OF PREHISTORIC TIMES!!!!!

Thought that was LAVA going through there...but CAR LIGHTS????? Well, I am glad for that.

And you do EXPECT to see KING KONG at any moment, as well.... :D

Interesting Pic.

:---[===] *

starsurfer
Stellar Cartographer
Posts: 5306
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:25 pm

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by starsurfer » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:30 pm

Psnarf wrote:Nevermind. There is no bright star marking the South Celestial Pole. I learned that today, thus answering my own question.
The nearest star to the South Celestial Pole is the faint star Sigma Octantis in the constellation of Octans.

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18109
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by Chris Peterson » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:22 pm

starsurfer wrote:
Psnarf wrote:Nevermind. There is no bright star marking the South Celestial Pole. I learned that today, thus answering my own question.
The nearest star to the South Celestial Pole is the faint star Sigma Octantis in the constellation of Octans.
There are stars much closer than that.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

flyernick

Re: APOD: Star Trails Over Indonesia (2014 Aug 18)

Post by flyernick » Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:18 pm

Wow! This is one of the more amazing APODs ever. This photo really blew me away. Congratulations!

Post Reply