Star Trails
| Constellation: Octans |
|---|
| Image exposure: 25 minutes | Image field of view: approx 15° x 15° | Image date: 2021-12-20 |
The stars in this zoomed image are almost entirely within the single constellation of Octans, generally regarded by amateur astronomers as a barren region with very few objects worth looking at.
You may notice two brief satellite trails, probably from a single Iridium satellite in a polar orbit.
During this 25 minute exposure of the South Celestial Pole, the rotation of the Earth moved the stars about 6.2° in a clockwise direction around the Pole, which is at the centre of this image, 34° above my southern horizon.
They’ll be back again tomorrow, providing irrefutable evidence that the Earth is a sphere, spinning at the rate of 23h 56m 4.1s every 24 hours.
Meanwhile, here in Eastern Australia ☹ :
☁🌧🌩☁🌧🌩🌧☁🌧🌩🌧☁🌩🌧☁
Cosmic Focus Observatory
34° South
Above us only sky….
34
| Imaging camera: | Canon EOS 60D |
| Lens: | Tamron 70-200mm lens @70mm |
| Exposure: | 99 x 15 seconds, f/6.3, ISO 400 |
Images © Roger Powell
Cosmic Focus 
Nice . . . although the FEI would say a rotating disk would show the same thing if looking along the axis of rotation.
The satellites might offer more proof of sphericity than the star trails . . . were the Earth flat, they would just keep on going and never be seen again, and our phones would stop working.
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Those people will disregard all evidence and provide no credible counter evidence for their irrational belief. Fools are best ignored.
☁☁
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I’m of two minds . . . I like ignoring idiots, but it seems that unchallenged, they breed more idiots.
What’s not too bad, is making fun of them.
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Fortunately this category of irrational belief has no foothold here in Oz. If I had the bad luck of meeting one, I would not waste much time questioning such a delusion.
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. . . trust me; they’re around. They just don’t wear t-shirts that say “I’m with stupid” and they’re all alone.
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Sorry for your dismal weather down there. I see three trails, all generally, (or exactly?) in the same angle, which may indicate some common association. And yeah, it does look odd to me, without Polaris! M 🙂
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Octantis is desolate but fortunately there is no longer any requirement for a bright pole star when polar aligning.
⛈
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