Big Dipper Over the Mono Lake

Photographer: Fabrizio Melandri
Country: Italy

The Big Dipper asterism gracefully moves above the otherworldly tufa formations of Mono Lake, California, in this honourable mention in the category of Time-lapse videos of the rotation of the Big Dipper or Southern Cross. The time-lapse captures the Big Dipper’s movement across the northern horizon until its inferior conjunction. At Mono Lake’s latitude (+38°), the stars of the Big Dipper remain circumpolar, all except for Alkaid. The North Star sits 38° above the horizon, just outside the field of view in the top right. The lunar illumination bathes the landscape in a soft glow, gradually fading as the Moon sets, cloaking the scene in darkness.

Also see video in Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10360167