Star Trail in the Southern Hemisphere with Bortle 4 Scale Light Pollution

Winner in the 2023 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Still images with smartphones-mobile devices: Star Trail in the Southern Hemisphere with Bortle 4 Scale Light Pollution, by Slamat Riyadi.

This breathtaking photo, captured under the clear night sky of Linggamekar Village, Cilimus, Kuningan, West Java, Indonesia on 25 June 2020, displays star trails sweeping across the southern hemisphere’s heavens. The star trails are due to Earth’s rotation causing the apparent motion of stars, creating these mesmerising arcs of light when followed over extended periods. Here, the point the stars rotate around (the South Celestial Pole) is close to the horizon, as the image was taken close to the equator. The photographer used the star trail feature on a smartphone, which captured a series of images over an extended period and stacked them together. The striking tree in the foreground adds depth to the image, contrasting the celestial motion above with its Earthly stillness, while also masking some of the surrounding light pollution. Different parts of the world offer diverse and stunning perspectives on the night sky, emphasising the importance of preserving dark skies everywhere.

Credit: Slamat Riyadi/IAU OAE (CC BY 4.0)