Photography: Car and Stars

Astronomy photos of starlight reflected on the front of a car

As promised in my recent post, Planning ideas for dark-sky astronomy road trips, here is my first post with some of the cell phone photos from our recent stargazing trip to Tuckahoe State Park in Queen Anne, Maryland. Of the hundred and some photos that I took, these three are probably my favorites.

These photos were all taken at about 11:30 pm, just before packing up and returning home at the end of the night. It was @astronomyizfun's idea to get some photos of the stars framed by landscapes before we left. The date was January 5, 2019, and the camera was facing in a generally southward direction. The constellation directly above the the car, in the top third of the photos is the back half of Canis Major, with Sirius out of frame above the photo. According to Google Sky, nearby constellations include Puppis and Pyxis to the left (East) of Canis Major, and Columba to the right (West), but I'm not sure if I'm able to pick those out in the photos. From left to right (east to west), Vela, Carina, and Pictor might also be emerging above the horizon.

However, the reason I like these photos isn't really for the sky portion of the pictures, but rather for the reflected starlight on the hood and front windshield of our car. I didn't even know that the reflected starlight was in the pictures until I got home and looked at them on the computer (it obviously wasn't visible to the naked eye). It's hard to judge the angle of reflection with the slanted windshield, but if I'm not mistaken I think I happened to get Orion's knees, belt and shoulders and also Sirius reflected in the windshield in the second and third photos.

Photo 1 - 11:29 pm (US/Eastern) on January 5, ISO 2700, shutter speed 30 sec.

Photo 2 - 11:34 pm (US/Eastern) on January 5, ISO 2700, shutter speed 30 sec.

Photo 3 - 11:34 pm (US/Eastern) on January 5, ISO 2700, shutter speed 15 sec.

All photos were taken with an LG-G4 cell phone. You can right click and open in a new tab for a better view. Rewards from this post will be shared with the @steemstargazers who attended the road-trip: @astronomyizfun, @cmac, @cmp2020, and myself.

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Steve Palmer is an IT professional with three decades of professional experience in data communications and information systems. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's degree in computer science, and a master's degree in information systems and technology management. He has been awarded 3 US patents.

Steve is a co-founder of the Steemit's Best Classical Music Facebook page, and the @classical-music steemit curation account.

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