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The Story behind the Photo: Panorama of a Comet between Fireworks and Lightning

Posted on 02/04/08, in Features, The Story Behind The Photo, by cGt2099

Every so often, an image appears on the internet that seems to strike a chord with thousands of people. The photograph selected for this article is of no exception. It is a beautiful work of art, and a delicate shot of a day of celebration in my home country.

Panorama of a Comet between Fireworks and Lightning

It was during February of 2007 the above photograph surfaced online. Depicted was Hillary’s Boat Harbor on Australia Day 2007 (January 26), in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia. Aussie onlookers enjoy the annual Australia Day fireworks, while lightning strikes in the distance. In the center of the image is the very clear image of Comet McNaught, visible in the WA skies during the time.

The image became very popular online, hitting sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Del.icio.us; as well as countless blogs. Many claimed the image to be too much of a coincidence to have happened all at once, and called the image a fake.

Three Images used for a panorama composite The image, itself is not technically a fake, but a three-photo panorama that was processed digitally in an effort in reducing the reflections from the exploding pyrotechnics. In other words, it is a composite photograph: of images taken in the same location on the same night.

In addition, the composition was taken using long exposure; a method to ensure captivation of both the fireworks and the lightning – a time lapse technique used by many photographers. This explains the light-trails of the fireworks explosion, the smoothness of the shoreline, and the blurriness of the faces of the people enjoying the show.

The photograph was taken by 18-year-old (then 17 at the time) Antti Kemppainen, originally from Finland. According to Kemppainen’s brother, Jussi, everything "you see in the photo did happen inside 10 minutes or so, but it is not a single exposure shot. The exposure time in each photo was, I think, 3 seconds. The people on the beach are lit by the exploding fireworks that makes then seem pretty sharp. The long exposure also brought out the comet as it was not clearly visible for the naked eye. Ghostly people in the ocean are caused by the panorama stitching software, as the people moved between shots".

Some have questioned the presence of the lightning in the image; with some detractors claiming that it had been "cloned" into the photograph during digital processing. These claims are inaccurate and based upon skeptic assumption. Summer storms in Perth are usually associated with hot, humid days with a dropping barometric pressure. ABC News Australia reported January 26, 2007 to be second hottest Australia Day on record for Perth. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s statistics for January 2007 show that the day of the 26th was indeed a very hot day, with a dropping barometric pressure consistent with summer thunderstorms in Perth.

Furthermore, here is a blog written by Benjamin Cooke, in which it is described that the individual also took some photographs of lightning in Perth, Australia on the night in question. There are also other accounts of other people taking photos that night. Additionally, we have some video footage of the fireworks and lightning happening on the night of January 26, 2007:

Comet McNaught was also visible in the Southern Hemisphere skies above Perth at that time, as highlighted in this news article and also as discussed in this thread here.

Australia Day is celebrated every January 26 down under. It is a celebration of national pride and is accompanied by the Prime Minister announcing the Australian of the Year; and the fireworks displays held in each major city across the nation.

Further Reading, References, and Sources:

ABC News Australia: Perth swelters on 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) day

Another Day in the Life of…: Parched

Antti Kemppainen Photography: Australia Day 2007

Australian Bureau of Meteorology: Perth statistics for January 2007

Del.icio.us: Comet between fireworks and lightning

Digg: Amazing panorama of a comet between fireworks and lightning

Digg: Amazing pic with fireworks in the foreground and lightning in the distance

Digg: Comet seen between fireworks and lightning

McNaught now brightest comet in decades

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: February 5, 2007

Oz Vuosi: The Blog of Antti Kemppainen