Milky Way over Galapagos Astrophotography

We can allow satellites, planets, suns, 

universe, nay whole systems of universes, 

to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, 

we wish to be created at once by special act.

--Charles Darwin

The Galapagos Islands offer one of the most extraordinary night skies on Earth. Located almost exactly on the equator, they allow observers to see both the northern and southern celestial hemispheres in a single night — a rare and powerful perspective for astrophotography.

This image is a 40-frame Milky Way panorama, captured over approximately one hour from Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island. Visible in this single panorama are constellations from both skies: Orion, Canis Major, Crux (Southern Cross), Carina, and Centaurus.

Three of the brightest stars in Earth’s night sky appear together: Sirius, Canopus, and Rigel Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri). Subtle red and green airglow is also visible — a natural atmospheric emission that is especially prominent at equatorial latitudes.

Milky Way over Galapagos Astrophotography

Camera: Canon EOS 60Da
Lens: EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
Panorama: 40 frames (about 1 hour)
Exposure (per frame): 16 s · f/2.8 · ISO 6400
Location: Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador

The Galapagos are famous not only for their skies, but also for life forms that appear almost unchanged over millions of years. To capture the true atmosphere of this place, I combined night-sky astrophotography with daytime wildlife photographs — all taken by me.

One more photo: "How to Train Your Dragon"

The marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galapagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile.

How to Train Your Dragon or Milky Way over Galapagos Astrophotography

Not so much were changes on Galapagos Islands during last 3 millions years!

The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird. The blue-footed booby is distributed among the continental coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean from California to the Galapagos Islands down into Peru. The blue color of the blue-footed booby's webbed feet comes from carotenoid pigments obtained from its diet of fresh fish.

The blue-footed booby and Milky Way Isabela Island Galapagos Ecuador

Frigatebirds (also listed as "frigate bird", "frigate-bird", "frigate", "frigate-petrel") are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. Females have white underbellies and males have a distinctive red gular pouch, which they inflate during the breeding season to attract females.

Frigate-bird and Milky Way - Galapagos Islands

Darwin's finches (also known as the Galapagos finches) are a group of about 15 species of passerine birds. During the survey voyage of HMS Beagle, Darwin was unaware of the significance of the birds of the Galapagos. These birds were to play an important part in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

Darwin's Galapagos finch and night cloudy sky Santa Cruz Island

Most of Galapagos Flamingo plumage is pink, giving rise to its earlier name of Rosy Flamingo and differentiating adults from the much paler European species. Flamingos can only eat with their head upside down. Their beaks have lamellae (thin, flat membranes) which are used to filter the mud.

Galapagos Flamingo and Milky Way Astrophotography

The Galapagos tortoise are the largest living species of tortoise. Modern Galapagos tortoises can weigh up to 417 kg (919 lb). Today, giant tortoises exist on only two remote archipelagos: the Galapagos Islands 1000 km due west of mainland Ecuador; and Aldabrachelys gigantea of Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, 700 km east of Tanzania.

Galapagos giant tortoise and Orion - night sky

These composite images are a deliberate artistic exception for me. They merge sky and life to convey the spirit of the Galapagos — a place where ancient biology and cosmic perspective coexist naturally.

Related Galápagos & Equatorial Sky Astrophotography

• Sky Ladder - Galapagos Nightscape Astrophotography
• Crux (Southern Cross), Milky Way and Palm Tree — Galápagos
• Large Magellanic Cloud — Galápagos Night Landscape
• Moonset — Galápagos Ecuador Astrophotography
• Milky Way Tanzania Astrophotography
• Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red — Tanzania & Galápagos

Crux (Southern Cross), Milky Way and Palm Tree - Galapagos Night Sky Astrophotography

The Galápagos Islands offer a rare opportunity to photograph the southern night sky from an equatorial location. In this image, the sky is filled with southern-hemisphere highlights rarely visible from mid-northern latitudes.

Prominently visible are Alpha Centauri — the closest stellar system to our Solar System — the distinctive Crux (Southern Cross) constellation, and the faint glow of the South Celestial Pole. A palm tree in the foreground provides a natural tropical frame, emphasizing the unique location and latitude.

Crux  (Southern Cross), Milky Way  and Palm Tree - Galapagos Night Sky Astrophotography

Image details:
Panorama of 3 frames
Canon EOS 60Da · Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
16 s · f/2.8 · ISO 6400
Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador

The South Celestial Pole in this image is located using two independent geometric methods. The first method uses the Crux (Southern Cross) constellation: a line extended along the long axis of Crux points toward the south celestial pole.

The second method uses Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. By drawing an imaginary line connecting these two bright stars and then constructing a perpendicular line through the midpoint between them, this perpendicular also points toward the south celestial pole.

When both constructions are applied to the same image, the Crux axis line and the Centauri perpendicular intersect very close to the south celestial pole. The annotated image above shows this intersection clearly.

The South Celestial Pole - Galapagos Equator Sky - Annotated

From this image, the south celestial pole appears very close to the horizon. Because Isabela Island lies on the equator, this photograph captures a true equatorial sky — a rare vantage point where the geometry of Earth and the celestial sphere becomes visually apparent.

Related Galápagos & Equatorial Sky Astrophotography:

• Milky Way Over Galápagos – Astrophotography
• Large Magellanic Cloud – Galápagos Night Sky
• Sky Ladder - Galapagos Nightscape Astrophotography
• Moonset - Galapagos Ecuador Astrophotography
• Milky Way Tanzania Astrophotography
• Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red

Large Magellanic Cloud - Galapagos Night Landscape Astrophotography

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one of the iconic features of the southern sky — especially for a northern-hemisphere observer like myself.

I first saw the Large Magellanic Cloud a few years earlier from Peru, but there it hovered very low above the horizon. This time, from the Galápagos Islands, I finally experienced it properly — high enough in the sky to fully appreciate its shape and brightness.

The small, whitish “cloud” visible on the right side of the image is not a weather cloud at all. It is the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf companion galaxy of the Milky Way, containing roughly one percent of the Milky Way’s mass.

The position of the LMC can be located using the Southern Cross (Crux), which serves as a familiar reference point in the southern sky. Under the exceptionally dark and transparent night skies of the Galápagos, the view of the LMC was truly striking.

Large Magellanic Cloud - Galapagos Night Landscape Astrophotography

Large Magellanic Cloud over Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador.

Canon EOS 60Da, Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
30 seconds · f/4.0 · ISO 6400

Related Galápagos & Equatorial Sky Astrophotography:

• Milky Way Over Galápagos – Astrophotography
• Crux (Southern Cross), Milky Way and Palm Tree – Galápagos Night Sky
• Sky Ladder – Galápagos Nightscape Astrophotography
• Moonset – Galápagos Ecuador Astrophotography
• Milky Way Tanzania Astrophotography
• Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red

Sky Ladder - Galapagos Nightscape Astrophotography

The night sky over the Galápagos Islands is one of the darkest and most pristine I have ever experienced. Based on the Bortle scale, the sky quality was extremely close to Class 1 — an excellent dark-sky site. Under these conditions, clouds appear only as dark voids against the star-filled sky, and airglow is clearly visible to the naked eye.

Surprisingly, I had seen very few night-sky photographs from the Galapagos before this trip. Yet once you experience the darkness firsthand, it becomes clear that astrophotography is a natural extension of the islands’ unique appeal. As awareness grows, nightscape astrophotography may well become another attraction of the Galápagos.

Sky Ladder - Galapagos Nightscape Astrophotography

The image is titled “Sky Ladder”. In the foreground, a simple ladder leads upward toward the observer’s platform. As the ladder ends, the Milky Way continues its path across the sky, creating the illusion that the ladder itself ascends directly into the galaxy. This natural alignment transforms an ordinary object into a symbolic bridge between Earth and the cosmos.

Canon EOS 60Da, Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
30 seconds · f/2.8 · ISO 6400
Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador
Nightscape Astrophotography

Related Astrophotography Posts:

• Galápagos Astrophotography Series:
  • Milky Way over Galápagos — Nightscape Astrophotography
  • Crux (Southern Cross), Milky Way and Palm Tree — Galápagos Night Sky
  • Large Magellanic Cloud — Galápagos Night Landscape Astrophotography
  • Moonset — Galápagos, Ecuador Astrophotography
• Equatorial Sky & Airglow: Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red — Tanzania & Galápagos
• Minimalist Nightscape Astrophotography: Drive Safely Between the Milky Way and the Haystack

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Notes:

Another defining feature of this photograph is its equatorial location. As I later observed in Tanzania, airglow near the equator often appears more reddish compared to higher latitudes. Combined with the Galápagos’ isolation — far from continental light pollution — the result is a uniquely rich and atmospheric night sky.

Moonset - Galapagos Ecuador Astrophotography

After several days of travel across Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, most of February was cloudy and rainy — typical for the rainy season. Then one night finally cleared, giving us a rare window for astrophotography.

I went to sleep early and woke up around midnight to photograph a moonset — the moment when the Moon drops below the horizon and the sky gradually becomes darker. This image was captured on Isabela Island, on the beach near the small town of Puerto Villamil (population under 2,000).

The location was convenient: only about 100 meters from the main street, yet dark enough for night-sky work. After a full day of island trips, the short walk mattered. Another practical reason was the wildlife — Galápagos animals are everywhere, and shooting close to town made it easier to stay aware of my surroundings.

Moonset - Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador Astrophotography

Moonset (not to be confused with sunset) astrophotography from Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. As the Moon sinks, the sky slowly darkens and more stars begin to appear.

Canon EOS 60Da, Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
10.0 sec · f/2.8 · ISO 6400

Related Galápagos & Equatorial Sky Astrophotography:

• Milky Way Over Galápagos – Astrophotography
• Crux (Southern Cross), Milky Way and Palm Tree – Galápagos Night Sky
• Large Magellanic Cloud – Galápagos Night Sky
• Sky Ladder – Galápagos Nightscape Astrophotography
• Milky Way Tanzania Astrophotography
• Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red