star trail

English

Noun

star trail (plural star trails)

  1. (astronomy, photography) The line of light recorded on a photographic medium when a time exposure is made of a star in the nighttime sky using a camera on a fixed mount, caused by the rotation of the earth during the period of time when the camera's shutter is held open.
    • 2001, Eric DeBolt, “Happy Trails”, in Astronomy, volume 29, number 7, page 74:
      The idea behind photographing star trails is wonderfully simple. Just take your old mechanical camera, point it skyward, and leave the shutter open.

Usage notes
  • Usually used in the plural form.

See also

References
  • "star trail" at Zoom Astronomy Dictionary, ©1999-2008 EnchantedLearning.com.
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