Roberto Porto posted this photo at EarthSky Facebook in late May, 2016. It’s a pass of International Space Station (ISS) over Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands. The large plant is a tajinaste rojo, an endemic plant of this island. Roberto said the tajinaste plants typically blossom in May on this island, and he said some grow as high as 10 feet (3 meters). Of his photo, he wrote:
In this picture the startrail of a bright ISS passes in perpendicular direction to the trails of the rising stars.
The tajinaste is illuminated by the traffic lights of the many cars that drive late in the park to take pictures of these fantastic plants in Teide National Park.
I used a Nikon D5300, with Nikkor fisheye … to take 40 exposures with changing exposure times as the natural light was changing.
Then I used starstack software and ligthroom CC for final adjustments.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.