The centre of the Galaxy region in Sagittarius rising above the treetops, with the rich starfields of Scorpius and Sagittarius clearly visible despite the low altitude in the east due to the very transparent Australian skies. I shot this April 13, 2016 from Tibuc Cottage, near Coonabarabran, NSW. This image is framed to be suitable for a cover image. All of Scorpius and most of Sagittarius is visible, with the constellations coming up on their side as seen from Australia’s southern latitude. Mars is to the left of Antares in Scorpius at top left, with Saturn below the Mars-Antares pairing. This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures, tracked, for the sky, plus an additonal exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter to add the star glows to make the constellation patterns pop. The ground comes from another 4 exposures taken with the tracker motor off to minimize blurring. All with the 35mm lens at f/2 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600 on the iOptron Sky Tracker.
The centre of the Galaxy region in Sagittarius and Scorpius skimming the southern horizon on June 9, 2013 from home at a latitude of +51°. M6 and M7 clusters are just on the horizon. The sky was moonless but lit with perpetual twilight. Ground illumination is from starlight. This is a single 15-second exposure at f/1.4 with the 24mm lens and Canon 60Da at ISO 1600. Taken as part of a comparison pair with a 60 second exposure.
