Grossmugl Star Walk / Großmugl Sternenweg
With the winter constellations setting at astronomical dusk, you know that the warmer seasons are coming, and with them astronomical outdoor activities can once again intensify. In Austria, people return to the Grossmugl Star Walk installation, which is located about 30 kilometers north of Vienna. Our image was shot on the trail of the Grossmugl Star Walk at the beginning of a truly magical night. Only a few hours before the April 4th total lunar eclipse, the nearly full moon was shining brightly, which illuminated the landscape and gave the sky a deep bluish hue. The clouds parted for the wide-angle shot, which faces west and shows the prominent star patterns of Orion, the Hyades and the Pleiades as they give way to the spring skies. Venus shines brilliantly well above the dissolving clouds, preparing for its passage between the Hyades and the Pleiades on April 13. The observers in the foreground are using a red torchlight to find their way along the Star Walk trail. The Grossmugl Star Walk is a permanent self-guided installation encouraging astronomical observations with the unaided eye. Nine displays along the 1.5 km long trail explain general astronomical topics in an easy-to-read way. Visitors read how to spot star colors, artificial satellites, the Milky Way and other objects in the night sky. The "Sternenweg Großmugl" was designed by project nightflight and built in close collaboration with the municipality of Grossmugl in 2014. [Released April 5, 2015] This project nightflight image was sponsored by