Fire Glow and Star Trails at Sunset Crater

Stars gracefully arc over the glow from a not too distant forest fire in this dramatic time exposure . A recent camping trip with family and friends to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, near Flagstaff, Arizona, USA produced the opportunity to record the subtle lighting from Earth and sky . Pointed south with the shutter held open for five minutes, camera and tripod were fixed to planet Earth, producing the gently curving, concentric star trails - a reflection of the planet's daily rotation about its axis. Rising beyond the forest fire's glow is the slope of Sunset Crater , a cinder cone produced by volcanic eruptions some 900 years ago.