Gramophone Record of the Universe

Nearly a complete night (about 8 hours) of Indian Himalayas is captured in this polar startrail image looking toward the north celestial pole. In the foreground the High Altitude Gamma Ray Telescope Array known as HAGAR is captured at work. This array of 7 telescopes is located at the altitude of 4270 m near Hanle in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas. The array is intended to observe gamma rays indirectly by detecting brief flashes of optical and ultraviolet light, called Cherenkov radiation.