Explanation:
In myth,
Atlas holds up the heavens, but in this scene they
seem to pivot around a lighthouse beacon.
Photographed with a camera fixed to a tripod, the well-planned
30 minute exposure
records star trails in the northern sky,
reflecting the daily rotation of planet Earth.
Hidden behind the top of the prominent Nauset Lighthouse
on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, the
North Celestial Pole is at
the center of all the star trail arcs.
Making a complete circle,
360 degrees, in 24 hours,
the star trail arcs cover 15 degrees each hour
or 7.5 degrees in thirty minutes.
Foreground lighting is courtesy of September 23rd's first quarter
moonlight.
