# Stars in Space

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 10, 2006, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850 "2006-11-10T09:44:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850/41 "2006-11-12T05:36:03Z")

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[QUOTE=Chronos]  
Hmm, usually pictures like that are made with double exposures, but the second link explicitly says that the buildings are lit only by starlight. I wonder how they managed that?  
[/QUOTE]

I would guess that they took a long exposure using a tripod.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850/42 "2006-11-12T13:15:23Z")

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Nope. Note Drewbert’s comment in post 32 of this thread.

In a long exposure the stars would move. Moving the camera to track the stars is easy enough, but then how to you avoid smearing the non-moving buildings?

Gotta be a fairly quick exposure (WAG: \<1 minute) with very very very very sensitive film.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850/43 "2006-11-12T13:16:24Z")

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make that post 31 for Drewbert.

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-in-space/379850/44 "2006-11-12T14:26:50Z")

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[QUOTE=LSLGuy]  
Gotta be a fairly quick exposure (WAG: \<1 minute) with very very very very sensitive film.  
[/QUOTE]

Or an astronomical CCD camera. These days even amateur astronomers use cooled CCD detectors, and they are much more sensitive than film.

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