Caminos estelares

Astrónomos y Estrellas trazan senderos en la imagen

Esta fotografía de larga exposición revela el movimiento de las estrellas durante la noche sobre el telescopio Blanco de 4 metros y el telescopio SMARTS de 1,5 metros en el Observatorio Interamericano de Cerro Tololo en Chile, programa del Laboratorio Nacional de Investigación para la Astronomía Óptica-Infrarroja de la NSF. Also visible in the photo are the trails left by astronomers walking to the Blanco telescope, created by their flashlights. Stars streak through the sky over the course of this one-hour exposure, appearing to spin around the south celestial pole in the upper left of the image. The star closest to the south celestial pole is Sigma Octantis, a relatively faint yellow giant star about 275 light-years from Earth. In contrast to the relatively bright north star, Polaris, Sigma Octantis is not bright enough to use for celestial navigation.