Herb Riddle's photos with the keyword: Stars

Looking north across the Bristol Channel towards South Wales from Porlock, Somerset. We are looking towards Ursa Major just above the lit tree with Ursa Minor a little higher, the Milky Way is just about viewable from the bottom right towards the top. A 11mm, 15 sec exposure at F3.5, 1600 ISO. (The 11mm on my Nikon DX crop sensor delivers a Field of view 90°x70°) The PiP gives a better idea of what we are looking at, showing the constellations at the exact same coodinates, date and time. Thanks to stellarium.org Deserves full screen

On a very rare clear night for me, I have at last a chance to try this in my back garden. Astro photographers will recognise it with ease but for my viewers who are not initiated here is what you are seeing: This is 83 separate exposures, taken with my 11mm Tokina DX (similar to 16mm on fx or 35mm camera’s), each set at a shutter release time of 40 secs, f4.5 , iso 640, with just a gap of 5 secs between each shot. All the shots were then ‘stacked’ together using a program called StarStax. I am pointing my lens roughly towards our North star Polaris. Now because of the long exposure and gap between each shot, around 90 minutes had elapsed between the first and last shot. This then showed the movement, not really of the stars but the earth revolving on its polar axis which is lined up with Polaris hence the star here in the centre of the ‘wheel’ is Polaris and all the others have revolved around it some distance. Each white line is a blurred star’s travel over those 90 minutes and 83 exposures. A more complete unbroken series of circles can be obtained with more exposures over a longer time, ideally over three hours and 300 exposures or more. As the wind was gusting, our trees were tossing around and over the 90 minute period a bank of cloud had flown by. Normally my home, being inside the light polluted conurbation of Greater Manchester, is much too bright to capture such things but a new moon (no moon) and a new anti-pollution glass filter has made things better here. A lot of patience, a sturdy tripod and an electronic camera timer trigger helps here :) Enjoy full screen on black. Ps my last attempt at such a thing was in Cyprus just 14 months ago. (PiP)

A rare clear night beckons me out to my nearest high point only a fifteen minute drive from my home at around 23:00. Even so, in these days of semi-lockdown, there are other people still up here enjoying the views in the unusual warmth. This is almost a 180deg view towards the highlights of Manchester and Oldham to the west, showing on the right side, the path to the old long-gone tower with people sat on it. Notice the still blue after-glow of daylight on the right side, a result of our relative high latitude. The results of six portrait shots by my Tokina 11mm taken at F5.6 for 10 secs using a clear-night filter to help take away the light pollution. Enjoy full screen. My thanks again to Steve Paxton for his invaluable help in producing these.

A rare clear night beckons me out to my nearest high point only a fifteen minute drive from my home at around 23:00. Even so, in these days of semi-lockdown, there are other people still up here enjoying the views in the unusual warmth. This is almost a view towards the highlights of Oldham to the NW, Notice the still blue after-glow of daylight where the sun had dipped hours before, a result of our relative high latitude. The results of 12 portrait shots in a double vertical row with my Tokina 11mm taken at F5.6 for 10 secs using a clear-night filter to help take away the light pollution. Enjoy full screen. My thanks again to Steve Paxton for his invaluable help in producing these.