The Winter Hexagon over Oravska Lesna
While spending Christmas time 2016 at Oravska Lesna, Slovakia, I felt sometimes like in a fairytale. Once the landscape covers a fresh snow, it feels like time stops and everyting around just sleeps. Most of winter nights are cloudy, however, when finally cleares up, you can enjoy such a beautiful night sky. Against the faint winter Milky Way (for northern hemisphere) some of the brightest stars in the sky shine like a diamonds. Six of them create a streaking shape. It is The Winter Hexagon (see annotated image below), an asterism appearing to be in the form of a hexagon with vertices at Rigel (the Orion constellation), Aldebaran (the Bull constellation), Capella (the Charioteer constellation), Pollux (the Twins constellation), Procyon (the Small Dog constellation), and Sirius (the Big Dog constellation). Above classical Slovakian cabins with decoration lights, the stars create true Christmas atmosphere. Image captured just a week after Christmas 2016, on 2nd January 2017, with Canon 6D IR Baader modified, Samyang 24 mm, f2.8, ISO 6400, 29×30 seconds panorama from tripod and Vixen Polarie mount.
The Winter Hexagon over Oravska Lesna – annotated
