Spo's photos with the keyword: stars

The point near the zenith where aurora were coming from. Aurora move fast, so in order to avoid the normal blurry look and to keep the stripes visible – as well as the noise! – I used ISO 10 000. The bright stars at the top belong to the Big Dipper, whereas the grey thing at the very bottom is ice.

In addition to Ursa Major and Minor, there were earthly ursi around as well that night, we were told. Vertical lights near the horizon came from Area 51, where t-h-e-y were having their nightly drill. He-he. Without a tripod I had to place my camera on whatever solid things I found (read: stumbled on) on the ground, so I could not quite get the framing I wanted. Thanks Joan+ for the title.

For an urbanist like me, a night in the countyside is definitely an experience. It can be quite scary too: when you go out, it is so pitch black first that you cannot see your own hands. That night we had the stars: after many rainy days the sun had managed to peek just before the sunset, but I was totally unaware of the spectacle waiting for me up there when I first went out after dark. I think I actually cried out loud in astonishment at the stairs, me, who had not seen the full Big Dipper in decades. The awe was not diminished by the grandpa from the neigborhood, who had just told us that they had seen a bear with two clubs out there. It was ursa all over the place! If you look closely, there are other kinds of trespassers in the sky.