Tag Archives: equator

Serengeti Startrails, North

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A safari in Tanzania takes one just south of the Earth’s equator.  Here there is no visible North Star; it resides just below the horizon, obscured by the acacia trees and grasses of the Serengeti plain.   A startrail image reveals its implicit location; the arcs to the north are perfect semicircles.

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Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
14 June 2008
Canon EOS 30D, EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm
composite of 3-minute exposures at f/8, ISO 400

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Serengeti Startrails, East

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A safari in Tanzania takes one almost exactly to the Earth’s equator.  A camera pointed east to make a startrail image will show those due-east stars taking paths perfectly perpendicular to the horizon.  Stars to the north and south bend toward their respective centers of apparent motion.

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Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
14 June 2008
Canon EOS 30D, EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm
composite of 3-minute exposures at f/6.7, ISO 400

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