Full Arch Over Joshua Tree

[HunterHarling]

I captured this image while out at Joshua Tree this month. Despite being quite hot and a setting moon, the sky was incredible. This was really the first time I've seen the core of the milky way from a very dark location, because the other times I've been in a good location, the core wasn't visible (wrong time of year or hidden by mountains+trees🙃). This is a 6-panel mosaic captured around midnight PST. There are some light domes near the horizon, along with green/red air glow and clouds.

Jupiter and Saturn are visible in the image along with the summer triangle, M8, M20, M16, M17, NGC7000, IC1396, the Rho Ophiuchi Complex, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

Equipment / exposure info: Nikon d810a, static tripod, Nikkor 14-24mm. f2.8 ISO3200. 6-30 second images stitched with Microsoft ICE. July 7 2019 ~12:00 PST.

Hunter

 

[Stu]

Amazing shot Hunter, must have been quite a sight!

[HunterHarling]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Amazing shot Hunter, must have been quite a sight!

Thanks Stu, it was! Joshua Tree is now #2 on by best skies list, with only Yosemite above it.

Edited July 21, 2019 by HunterHarling

[davew]

Now that is a beauty ! 

Not only is the arch as good as it gets but the colours are gorgeous. I like the few clouds that have sneaked in and the sky glow.

Dave 

[geoflewis]

Wonderful image Hunter, thanks for sharing it. I keep thinking I'll try a Milky Way shot, but just never get around to it. Really I need to invest in a widefield prime lens for my astro-modified Canon to do it justice, but perhaps my 18-200mm Nikor lens at 18mm might be worth a try, even though my Nikon camera isn't modified, though it does suffer with serious amp glow at even a few seconds exposure.

Cheers, Geof

[banjaxed]

That is a superb image Hunter, thanks for sharing.

[HunterHarling]

8 hours ago, davew said:

Now that is a beauty ! 

Not only is the arch as good as it gets but the colours are gorgeous. I like the few clouds that have sneaked in and the sky glow.

Dave 

Thanks! I also like the clouds and glow:)

 

7 hours ago, geoflewis said:

Wonderful image Hunter, thanks for sharing it. I keep thinking I'll try a Milky Way shot, but just never get around to it. Really I need to invest in a widefield prime lens for my astro-modified Canon to do it justice, but perhaps my 18-200mm Nikor lens at 18mm might be worth a try, even though my Nikon camera isn't modified, though it does suffer with serious amp glow at even a few seconds exposure.

Cheers, Geof

Thanks, Geof. I've found milky way astrophotography to be really rewarding. It's also fun in a dark sky because you don't have to bring the full setup to get some images! I think you'd be able to get some great images with the modified Canon and any lense less than 25mm would probably work. If you do get a widefield lense, the Tokina ATX 11-16 mm is great for Canon. And the Nikkor 14-24 is great for Nikon...

2 hours ago, banjaxed said:

That is a superb image Hunter, thanks for sharing.

Thanks

[geoflewis]

9 minutes ago, HunterHarling said:

I think you'd be able to get some great images with the modified Canon and any lense less than 25mm would probably work

Hunter, thanks for the recommendations. I don’t have any lenses for my Canon 600D, as I purchased it from new, as modified for DSO imaging with my telescopes. Since I went to mono CCD 3 years ago I’ve never used it. I actually sold it then bought it back a year ago, so have been thinking about adding a wide field lens for Milky Way shots, as it’s not been used since I got it back. Cheers, Geof

[Whistlin Bob]

Epic!

If I'd taken that shot I would now be spending a bit of money on a high quality print and hanging it up on my wall!

I've just had a pleasant few minutes exploring it for various objects- it really is wonderful, thanks for sharing.

[HunterHarling]

On 29/07/2019 at 11:11, Whistlin Bob said:

Epic!

If I'd taken that shot I would now be spending a bit of money on a high quality print and hanging it up on my wall!

I've just had a pleasant few minutes exploring it for various objects- it really is wonderful, thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I'm definitely going to print this one. I'm glad you like it.

Edited August 6, 2019 by HunterHarling