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Stunning night sky time-lapse shows how colorful the stars really are
(photo)
News
By Miguel Claro published about 22 hours ago
This gorgeous eight-hour exposure reveals the colors of stars as they
make their way across the night sky, colors that can inform astronomers
about the characteristics of each star.

Comments (1)
in the foreground, a telescope can be seen. in the background, stars
turn into giant rings of different colors in the sky thanks to a long
exposure photograph
An eight-hour long exposure of the night sky captured from the Dark Sky
Alqueva Reserve in Portugal by astrophotographer Miguel Claro. (Image
credit: Miguel Claro)
Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science
communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images
of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory Photo Ambassador
and member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of
the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical "Skyscapes"
that connect both Earth and the night sky.

The night sky has never looked so colorful.

When looking at the stars in the night sky, it can be difficult to
distinguish the colors of individual stars with our naked eyes. However,
taking very long exposures of the night sky can reveal the true nature
of our colorful sky, as well as allowing us to visualize Earth's
rotation and the motion of the celestial sphere.

This wide-angle scene is composed of eight hours of consecutive long
exposures captured from the Dark Sky Reserve in Alqueva, Portugal. It
reveals the motion of stars centered around the north star, Polaris,
depicting them as colorful trails shining in different hues of blue,
white, yellow and even orange.

Related: Nearby star factory shines in stunning James Webb Space
Telescope photo

stars are depicted as colorful rings in the sky thanks to a
long-exposure photograph. the rings are various shades of blue, red,
yellow and white

An eight-hour long exposure of the night sky captured from the Dark Sky
Alqueva Reserve in Portugal by astrophotographer Miguel Claro. (Image
credit: Miguel Claro)

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The different colors of the stars are directly related to the type and
temperature of each one. The hottest stars appear in blues, while the
coldest ones appear as reddish-orange hues. Astronomers classify stars
based on their spectral characteristics  — that is, what frequencies and
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum they emit, including visible
light.

Visible light from stars can be split into a spectrum using prisms and
optical elements known as diffraction gratings. The amount of each
wavelength of light can indicate the presence of different chemical
elements or isotopes, and the relative abundance of each element varies
with the temperature of a star's photosphere, or visible surface. Thus,
the visible light of each star can offer a way to measure its
temperature and density.

Editor's Note: If you snap your own photos of the stars or night sky and
would like to share them with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s),
comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

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Miguel Claro
Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science
communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images
of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory photo ambassador, a
member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of the
Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical skyscapes that
connect Earth and the night sky.