Gateway to the Stars

A Notable Photo of the 2014 International Earth & Sky Photo Contest.

Star trails around the north celestial pole (marked by Polaris at top), captured in a long exposure photo sequence from Edinburgh. From the photographer: “On the right is the Forth Rail Bridge which opened in 1890 and is still in use today. Its recent repainting took years to complete and so Scotland can now show off this world famous structure, especially at night with lights that can be seen from many miles away. On the left is the Forth Road Bridge which opened in 1964 but which has suffered from corrosion and has an uncertain future. That uncertainty has led the government to begin the construction of a third bridge across the Forth estuary; the bright lights over to the left mark where that is currently under way.

This photograph was particularly challenging to capture. Obviously the light pollution doesn’t help and so I had to use a low ISO which limits the amount of star light recorded. Additionally I wanted the reflections in the water and so had to coincide the shot with high tide and slack water, no wind and a dark clear sky. Such conditions are quite rare here in Scotland and I’ve not seen the conditions as good again.”