As the World Turns

In this 38-minute time-exposure, a tree points its way to the North Star, Polaris, which hangs like a star upon the tip of a Christmas tree, one surrounded by bulbs of various colours as they swing, circumpolar, around Earth's celestial pole. A long exposure highlights the chromatic differences between the stars: the orange hues of older, cooler suns, the white and blue shades of younger, hotter suns. Notice the greater concentration of star trails in the upper left corner. This is the summertime Milky Way, soon to give way to the less spectacular wintertime Milky Way.