star trail

noun

The line of light recorded on a photographic medium when a time exposure is made of a star in the nighttime sky using a camera on a fixed mount, caused by the rotation of the earth during the period of time when the camera's shutter is held open.

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Meanings

nounstar trail (plural star trails)

plural star trails

  1. artsThe line of light recorded on a photographic medium when a time exposure is made of a star in the nighttime sky using a camera on a fixed mount, caused by the rotation of the earth during the period of time when the camera's shutter is held open.

    The idea behind photographing star trails is wonderfully simple. Just take your old mechanical camera, point it skyward, and leave the shutter open.

    2001, Eric DeBolt, “Happy Trails”, in Astronomy, volume 29, number 7, page 74
Cite this entry
APA

star trail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20trail

MLA

“star trail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20trail. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “star trail,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/star%20trail.

Source: star trail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.