                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2022 July 28

                            North Celestial Tree
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

   Explanation: An ancient tree seems to reach out and touch Earth's North
   Celestial Pole in this well-planned night skyscape. Consecutive
   exposures for the timelapse composition were recorded with a camera
   fixed to a tripod in the Yiwu Desert Poplar Forests in northwest
   Xinjiang, China. The graceful star trail arcs reflect Earth's daily
   rotation around its axis. By extension, the axis of rotation leads to
   the center of the concentric arcs in the night sky. Known as the North
   Star, bright star Polaris is a friend to northern hemisphere night sky
   photographers and celestial navigators alike. That's because Polaris
   lies very close to the North Celestial Pole on the sky. Of course it
   can be found at the tip of an outstretched barren branch in a postcard
   from a rotating planet.

                    Tomorrow's picture: aurora australis
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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