Star Trails From Kitt Peak National Observatory - Photo Gallery
©2011 by Fred Espenak. All rights reserved.
In 1958, Kitt Peak was selected as the site for a national observatory. Its remoteness from bright lights, a high frequency of clear weather, minimum air turbulence, and moderate elevation (6,864 feet or 2,092 meters) make the mountain top ideal for astronomy. Located high above the Sonoran Desert in Arizona's Quinlan Mountains, Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is home to the world's largest collection of telescopes, including twenty-two optical and two radio telescopes. Scientists from around the globe use these facilities for research programs in extragalactic, stellar, solar, and planetary studies.
I've made many trips to Kitt Peak to use the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope . This gave me the opportunity to shoot long time exposures at night and capture the graceful arcs of the stars and planets as they rise and set. The following gallery presents a collection of Kitt Peak star trail photographs. Additional of night photos can be found in Kitt Peak at Night 1 and Kitt Peak at Night 2.
Click on each thumbnail to see a larger image.
