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.
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| 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:
- Equatorial Sky & Airglow: Why the Equatorial Sky Glows More Red — Tanzania & Galápagos
- Minimalist Nightscape Astrophotography: Drive Safely Between the Milky Way and the Haystack
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.
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