Auriga and the Pleiades Above the Monastery of Saint George

April 18, 2011

StGeorgeMonastery 
Photographer: Stavros Hios
Summary Author: Stavros Hios; Jim Foster

The photo above showing the constellation of Auriga looming over the Monastery of Saint George was taken from Vourgareli, Greece. Capella (Alpha Auriga), the dominant star in Auriga with a magnitude of 0.8, lies almost directly above the approximately 300 year old monastery. It's the second brightest star visible during the winter months from locations in the Northern Hemisphere -- even brighter than the brightest stars in Orion. Just to the left of the monastery's bell gable, the Pleiades appears as an ornament drooping from a lower limb of a deciduous tree. The light we see radiating from this most obvious of star clusters departed approximately 100 years before the monastery was constructed. Both the Pleiades and Auriga played eminent roles in Greek Mythology. The pinkish puff at far left is a cumulus cloud. Photo taken on March 26, 2011.

Photo details: Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION; Camera Model: NIKON D3100; Focal Length: 18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm); Focus Distance: 7499m; Aperture: f/3.5; Exposure Time: 25.000 s; ISO equiv: 1600; Exposure Bias: +1.00 EV; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: Manual; Exposure Mode: Manual; White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: No; Orientation: Normal; Color Space: sRGB.