The 12 Days of Solstice – Day 6: A Laser Beauty

Welcome to Gemini’s 12 Days of Solstice! This is a joyous countdown to the longest, or shortest (depending on which hemisphere you live in) day of the year. Visit our blog each day from December 10 – December 21 for Gemini-themed crafts, cartoons, playlists, videos and much, much more.

Day 6: A Laser Beauty

For today’s solstice gift, we feature a beautiful image of the Gemini North telescope during laser guide star (LGS) operations. This time-lapse image consists of roughly 40 images stacked together in Photoshop to create a star-trails image, with an attenuation on the earlier images making the earlier images appear to fade out.  Shot near the summit of Maunakea, the glow of nearby town Waimea can clearly be seen reflected in the low cloud cover. Also prominently featured in the image are the new photovoltaic panels which have been installed at both of the Gemini Observatory’s summit facilities (and at the Hilo Base Facility).

You can find the high-resolution version of this and many other images on our Image Gallery.

Image Credit: Joy Pollard

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment of Gemini’s 12 Days of Solstice countdown!