Coronavirus: Clear nights skies delight photographers

1 April 2020

Star trail over Ramshaw Rocks in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire

With most people spending many hours at home, photographers are having to find new ways to express their creativity.

And with fewer aircraft in the skies, those who venture out at night to photograph the heavens no longer have to spend hours removing passing aeroplanes from their pictures.

"I usually end up spending a lot of time removing light trails caused by passing aircraft but I only had one plane to remove from these images, instead of the usual 20-30," says student Ben Lockett, from Staffordshire, who takes pictures such as the one above during his daily exercise.

The pictures are taken using a long exposure, with the apparent motion of the stars due to Earth's rotation.

Another photographer, Andrew Whyte, says: "On Friday night, I continued to observe the lockdown and didn't even cross the threshold of my front door."

Andrew Whyte / SWNS

Passing satellites caused the straight lines in this shot, taken in Hampshire

"At a time when there'd usually be a steady passage of friends and couples on their way home from the pub or taxis dropping off partygoers, I saw a single person out for a walk and no cars at all.

"I was further relieved when it came to processing the shot, because the sky was empty of planes."

Star trail showing the normal interference that planes have on these images - taken over Hampshire,

Andrew Whyte / SWNS

This picture, taken before the reduction in air traffic, shows how aircraft usually appear in night-time shots

Photographer Jon Mills believes the pictures perfectly capture the incredible times the world is experiencing.

He says: "While those on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic are ever in our thoughts, many of us will spend weeks or even months shut in our homes.