Uploaded January 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The stars in the sky appear to move in arcs overhead, but it's actually the Earth that is spinning. They look like they're doing loops around Polaris, the north star, because it lies on the axis of Earth's rotation. If you point a camera at Polaris and spin it at the same rate as the sky turns (in the opposite direction), you can halt the rotation of the stars!
My first semi-sucessful attempt at this timelapse was taken through my window in Santa Barbara, where the sky (and the glass) are none too clear. Over break, I had the chance to visit a real middle-of nowhere dark sky site with power available - home in North Carolina! The building in the timelapse is my dad's observatory, and you can see the roof roll off and light up red when he goes out to observe. While I was home, there was one night where the temperature was predicted to stay above dew point, so I set up the camera!
Explanation of the Astronomy: youtube.com/watch?v=BBU4mQP1Y3Y
Explanation of the Photography: youtube.com/watch?v=JBizFlGmLPM&t=775s
First (published) attempt in Santa Barbara: youtube.com/watch?v=NpI4WQCTe8U
This video
- Original: youtube.com/watch?v=SYcKaBzr87g
- Fixed camera: youtube.com/watch?v=LTfSu60TnMY
In this video:
I dunno
grapes
Creative Commons: Attribution
ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626
I Found an Answer by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: twinmusicom.org
The stars in the sky appear to move in arcs overhead, but it's actually the Earth that is spinning. They look like they're doing loops around Polaris, the north star, because it lies on the axis of Earth's rotation. If you point a camera at Polaris and spin it at the same rate as the sky turns (in the opposite direction), you can halt the rotation of the stars!
My first semi-sucessful attempt at this timelapse was taken through my window in Santa Barbara, where the sky (and the glass) are none too clear. Over break, I had the chance to visit a real middle-of nowhere dark sky site with power available - home in North Carolina! The building in the timelapse is my dad's observatory, and you can see the roof roll off and light up red when he goes out to observe. While I was home, there was one night where the temperature was predicted to stay above dew point, so I set up the camera!
Explanation of the Astronomy: youtube.com/watch?v=BBU4mQP1Y3Y
Explanation of the Photography: youtube.com/watch?v=JBizFlGmLPM&t=775s
First (published) attempt in Santa Barbara: youtube.com/watch?v=NpI4WQCTe8U
This video
- Original: youtube.com/watch?v=SYcKaBzr87g
- Fixed camera: youtube.com/watch?v=LTfSu60TnMY
In this video:
I dunno
grapes
Creative Commons: Attribution
ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626
I Found an Answer by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: twinmusicom.org
