Timelapse: Star Trails in Portugal

By Nancy Atkinson - August 21, 2012 at 6:46 PM UTC | Observing

Astrophotographer Miguel Claro has compiled dozens of hours of timelapse photography – all taken in Portugal – creating one of the most amazing and idyllic night sky views, including several magical star trail observations. Included in the foreground are some historical features, such as Diana's Temple in Évora, the 25th of April Bridge in Lisbon and scenes from the

Dark Sky Alqueva

, one of the first dark sky reserves in the world to be certified as "Star Light Tourism Destination."

"It is the perfect place to find the Milky Way as well providing an incredible and overwhelming vision," Claro wrote to UT, "where the depth of the sky has no limit. The light pollution effect existing in large cities, earned their magic through the peculiar form as it was captured in each image revealed in this video."

Sit back, put the video in HD and large screen, turn on your speakers and enjoy! This is perfect if you need a short "get away from it all" during your day!

See our previous article about Claro's work and the Dark Sky Alqueva.

Claro is also compiling a book of his works "astroFotografia - Imagens à luz das estrelas," to share his photographic work gathered over recent years, he said.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com