AAO image reference MISC 19. « Previous || Next »
Image and text © 1990-2002, Anglo-Australian Observatory, Photograph by David Malin.
Like the Moon and stars, the sun rises and sets, and for the same reason. The sun is a star like any other, but it is much closer, for which we are eternally grateful. However, making a long exposure of the sun is much more difficult than making a star trail, but that's just what this is.
The trusty Hasselblad was set on a tripod with the 80mm Planar lens set to f/16. It was loaded with 200 ISO Ektachrome because that's all I had. It was also fitted with a neutral density filter with an attenuation factor of 10 million (equivalent to ND 7), made simply by mounting Wratten ND 3 and ND 4 filter gels together in a screw-on filter mount.
The shutter was opened before the sun appeared in the frame and was left open all afternoon, probably five hours. Once the sun had set, the shutter was closed, the ND filter removed and, without winding-on the film, a short exposure was made of the after-sunset horizon, probably 1/25 at f5.6 or f/8. The flares around the sun trail are where it passed behind high cloud and they are greenish because the Wratten filters are not truly neutral and even the slightest colour cast would be evident with this amount of ND over the lens.
The picture was taken from the catwalk of the AAT dome and the mountains in the foreground are part of the Warrumbungles. The same range features in a night-time version of a similar scene, showing the moon setting into cloud.
Related images
AAT 5. Star trails southwest of the AAT dome
AAT 6. Star trails around the south celestial pole
MISC 18. The view to the north from Siding Spring
MISC 5. Dawn and evening twilights reflected in the AAT dome
MISC 8. Aurora Australis from Siding Spring
MISC 12. Orion's belt rising over the lights of Coonabarabran
MISC 14. South celestial pole star trails
MISC 13. North celestial pole star trails
MISC 15. North and South celestial poles star trails
MISC 11. Orion star colours, step-focus technique
MISC 22 The AAT dome from the Director's Cottage.
MISC 16. Southern Cross and Pointers, star colours - step-focus technique, long trails
MISC 23 Southern Cross and Pointers, star colours - step-focus technique, short trails
MISC 6. Moonset into cloud over the Warrumbungle Range
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