Star rotation


The rotation of the Earth affects the apparent rotation of the stars in the sky. If you make a long exposure with a camera on film or a digital sensor, then the path of the stars that they would make during the duration of the exposure would be exposed on your sensor. That way, we get a representation of the apparent rotation of the stars in the sky.
For this you need a tripod, a camera and preferably a wide-angle lens, a wire trigger and a clear sky. In this example, the Moon was also present, so the chapel and the surroundings were illuminated.
The first thing you need to do is set up the tripod and find an interesting frame. Then switch the autofocus to manual mode and manually focus on the chapel or one of the brightest stars. The difference in focus is possible depending on the focal length of the lens and the distance of the object from you. Adjust the settings (ISO value, aperture and exposure) for a specific frame. Attach the wire trigger, try a few shots and decide which one you like best. I recommend the aperture as open as possible, ISO value between 400-1600 and exposure up to 30 seconds.
When you are satisfied with the frame and the settings, lock the shutter via the wire trigger and let the camera shoot for half an hour, an hour, two... Until then, sit in the car and drink hot tea, eat something...
There are only a few steps in the processing that are very simple.
You can use StarStax to merge photos. Insert all the photos you want into the program and join the photos using one of the methods offered. Everything that is static will remain static and everything that moves (in this case stars, some airplanes, etc.) moves around the frame and leaves a trail.
Insert such a photo with trails into Photoshop and process it at your discretion. Voila.
You have star rotation.
On the left are individual photos taken with the camera.
On the right are the final photos obtained by combining all photos using StarStax and final processing in Photoshop.

