Not Every Star is Equal

I was in heaven. I took my camera and tripod to work and set up after W went to bed. The skies couldn't have been clearer and shooting stars rained from the sky. Fireballs streaked across from time to time. A spectacle that was worth a crick in the neck.

For photography there was a major problem. Lights! Bright street, car and house lights surround the house making long exposures a real problem. I can assure you that flights do not stop at midnight at Gatwick. The house is situated directly beneath the flight path... noisy and irritating when they pass straight through a frame! I did take a combination shot with her fence and a tree in the frames but it didn't turn out as I hoped. I eventually put the camera in the darkest possible place and aimed straight up. This is the result of 35 x 30'' photos that have been stacked together, tracking the image of the stars as they move across the sky. The rotational point is due north and the stars appear to travel faster the further south they are.

There is, unfortunately, quite a bit of noise in this image. I could have given you less and fewer stars or more and the glory of so many. The latter came up trumps. There are shooting stars in this image but don't go looking for them. The light pollution is high and they have appeared as very feint streaks that I can only see at insane magnification. I haven't been around the image colouring each streak. By enhancing the colour contrast you can clearly see that each star has it's own size and specific colour. Not the most scenic of shots but I'm happy.

How to spend a night at work! :)