The summer southern Milky Way over Reesor Lake in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a Dark Sky Preserve. Only July 28/29, 2017, just after moonset with Sagittarius in the southwest, and Saturn just about to go behind the treeline. Wind rippled the water and prevented a reflection of stars and the Milky Way. Some airglow tints the sky. This is a composite of four untracked exposures for the ground (mean combined to smooth noise) and four tracked exposures for the sky taken immediately afterwards (again, mean combined to smooth noise). The ground shots were 2 minutes each at f/2.8 and ISO 3200, The sky shots were 1 minute each at f/2 and ISO 1600. All with the 20mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
The galactic centre region of the Milky Way in Sagittarius and Scorpius, over the upper field of the Texas Star Party, near Fort Davis, Texas, May 13, 2015. About 600 people gather here each spring for a star party under very dark skies near the MacDonald Observatory. Sagittarius is left of centre and Scorpius is right of centre with the planet Saturn the bright object at the top edge right of centre. The dark lanes of the Dark Horse and Pipe Nebula areas lead from the Milky Way to the stars of Scorpius, including Antares. The semi-circular Corona Australis is just clearing the hilltop at left of centre. This is a composite of 5 x 3 minute exposures with the camera tracking the sky for more detail in the Milky Way without trailing. Each tracked exposure was at ISO 1600. The ground comes from 3 x 1.5-minute exposures at ISO 3200 taken immediately after the tracked exposures but with the drive turned off on the tracker. All are with the 24mm lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII camera. The ground and sky layers were stacked and layered in Photoshop. The tracker was the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer. High haze added the natural glows around the stars — no filter was employed here.
The summer Milky Way in Cygnus, with the Summer Triangle stars rising over the Hoodoos formations on Highway 10 near Drumheller, Alberta. A low-level aurora display tints the sky magenta and blue at left, making for an unusually colourful sky. The bright stars are: Vega is at top, Deneb at centre and Altair at bottom right. This is a blend of a tracked 2-minute exposure for the sky at f/2.8 and ISO 1600, with a stack of 3 untracked 8-minute exposures for the ground at f/5.6 and ISO 800, all with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and the red-sensitive Canon Ra. Some of the foreground illumination comes from a single distant sodium vapour light, thus the blue shadows. No light painting was used here. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
