{"product_id":"apy-2026-botswana-star-trail-a2-print","title":"Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 Botswana Star Trail A2 Print","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis poster-sized, A2 print features an image from the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 exhibition and competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBotswana Star Trail\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eStefano Pellegrini\u003c\/b\u003e (Italy)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eNxai Pan National Park, Botswana, 24 August 2025\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOne thing I wanted to try in Botswana was a star trail. I ­finally had the perfect opportunity in Nxai Pan, a magical place with huge baobab trees. It was like being inside a gothic cathedral; the old sturdy trees were like columns, with their branches creating vaults and arches. I put my camera almost on the ground, facing up, to capture this intricate canopy of branches and the sky behind it. I left the camera shooting with my usual settings, hoping for the best. The next morning, I checked the result – the ­final count was 340 photos taken in 4‑hours. Once the photos were merged, I saw the big difference between a European sky and an African one – the number of stars! The Botswana sky has no light pollution, every single part of the sky had stars in it, and after I had combined all the images together to form the trails I had a completely light sky. I played with the exposure and saturation, resulting in this almost psychedelic image.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"APY","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57233198088572,"sku":"PP0812","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2459\/8861\/files\/Botswana-A2-print.jpg?v=1789386887","url":"https:\/\/shop.rmg.co.uk\/products\/apy-2026-botswana-star-trail-a2-print","provider":"Royal Museums Greenwich Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}