Celestial spheres


A nighttime photograph of a beach at low tide, revealing spherical rock formations that are typically underwater. In the foreground, smooth, rounded rocks are visible in low light, with waves gently lapping from the left. Coastal cliffs rise in the background, with trees silhouetted at the top. The sky dominates the upper portion of the image, with the Milky Way stretching at a slight angle from vertical across the frame. Colors in the sky include shades of pink, purple, and blue against the darker night sky. The composition creates a sense of depth, with the rocks in the foreground leading to the cliffs and then to the Milky Way, extending above and out of frame.

Abhijit Patil, taken from Mendocino County, California

The unusual rock formations that give Bowling Ball Beach its name are usually submerged and visible only at low tide. The imager used an astromodified Nikon mirrorless camera and 16mm lens to create a five-shot vertical panorama. The sky panel makes use of UV/IR-cut filter and star tracker to take a 120-second exposure at f/2.2 and ISO 800.