Milky Way Panorama Astrophotography

There are couple of Milky Way panoramas which I did previously. There are Milky Way Rainbow from West and East of North America, Panorama in South America Chile and Milky Way Bow in Equator Galapagos. The photos of panoramas done during of couple of years. All places have best dark sky on Earth, photos were done during new moon. I used about the same technology – about 20-30 photos for one panorama. It took about 30 – 40 minutes (one photo was about 30 second, Canon 60Da with Canon Lens EF16-35mm, F/2.8). For post processing I used Photoshop to stitch all photos to one panorama. Challenge were that it was new places, when I never bean before, and very limited time.

Milky Way Panorama - Utah USA, Arches National Park Astrophotography

This is panorama of 40 images which were done during my trip to Arches National Park. I really like this trip, and I believe that   Arches National Park is one of the best place for landscape astrophotography. It is paradise for astrophotography – really dark sky (during new moon) and fantastic landscaping.

Milky Way Panorama - Maine USA, Acadia National Park Astrophotography

While Mount Desert Island is not heavily populated and is remote, but some light pollution exists. So, some places in Acadia National Park are just with good dark sky. But some places are having amazing sky! Sand Beach, while just a 290-yard-long beach inlet between granite mountains, has a spectacular view of the night sky. On the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, this place has “Class 1” (out of 9) is absolutely, naturally dark — the darkest skies on Earth!

Milky Way Panorama - Galapagos Astrophotography

This sea is my sea, this land is my land, this sky is my sky, this Milky Way is my Milky way.

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

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.

Panorama - Milky Way Shadow - Chile Astrophotography

Milky Way casting shadows – for all my live don’t see many times. Need very dark sky, no moon, no light pollution. Also, when doing the photo of Milky Way panorama, I usually add extra light to see landscape. This was exception. Very dark sky – Chile Atacama Desert has one of the best skies for observation. On the astronomical tour had one request – no light. Location is desert oasis with trees. Scorpius and Sagittarius and Jupiter are close to zenith. As result on the photo you can see diffuse shadows from trees casing by Milky Way. Really, there is the place where the Milky Way casts a shadow!

First Canon Ra Milky Way Rainbow - Catskill  NY

This is my first photo of Milky Way Rainbow with Canon EOS Ra. I am continue testing Canon Ra astrophotography camera. Canon Ra has High ISO performance with reasonable low noise levels (Topaz DeNoise AI allow minimize noise level). So even 5 sec photos with ISO 20,000 gives very nice result for night landscaping. Because of 5 sec shots – photo time is pretty fast. Special filter gives good contrast for Milky Way. Photoshop allows combine all 20 photos to one Milky Way rainbow panorama.

Milky Way and Zodiacal Light over Bolivia - Black and White Astrophotography

The photo captures a view of the night sky over the Bolivia. 2 hours after sunset (elevation: 4020 m / 13190 feet). Canon EOS 60Da, 25 sec., Canon Lens EF16-35mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400, panorama of 20 images. 

Because our eyes are less sensitive to color in low light conditions, a black and white photo more closely approximates what our eyes can see at night (compared to a color photo).

The black and white photography highlights the stark contrast between the dark night sky and the glowing band of the Milky Way. The Milky Way, a dense band of stars and interstellar dust, stretches across the sky in a white arc. 

If you look closely, you can also see a faint, diffuse glow stretching up from the horizon. This is the Zodiacal Light, a ghostly band of light caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles in our solar system. 

Taken together, the Milky Way and Zodiacal Light create a breathtaking scene that reminds us of the immense scale and beauty of the universe we inhabit. It is a testament to the power of nature and the wonders that can be discovered by simply looking up at the night sky.

The photo of the Milky Way and Zodiacal Light is an example of the beauty that can be found in the natural world. It is a reminder that there is always more to discover and explore, both here on Earth and beyond.

Milky Way Casting Shadows - Chile Astrophotography - San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Star Tour

We know the Sun and Moon cast shadows. But if Milky Way is bright enough to throw shadows? This is panorama from San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Star Tour. On the photo you can see shadows of trees cast by the Milky Way!

Based on Bortle scale of night sky's brightness this is one of the darkness sky on Earth - Scale 1 - Excellent dark-sky site - The Scorpius and Sagittarius region of the Milky Way casts obvious diffuse shadows on the ground. Not so often can see something like this!

Milky Way Casting Shadows - Chile Astrophotography  - San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Star Tour

Green and red airglow is noticeable close to the horizon. The brightest "star" in the center is actually Jupiter. 

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 25.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 6400 - Panorama of 20 photos

This image, slightly different version, has been chosen as Today's Image of the Day 17/11/2019. 

Dark Sky Travels Magazine

Dark Sky Travels Magazine Image of the Day

Chile Astrophotography - Galactic center - San Pedro de Atacama City - Backyard Photo

Photo was done in the center on the San Pedro de Atacama city. It was first night of trip. Long day. Just simply put tripod on the backyard and made a photo. It is Chile Atacama desert. Even in the city the sky is amazing at night.

Chile Astrophotography - Galactic center - San Pedro de Atacama City - Backyard Photo

Astrophotography Adventure in Chile Atacama Desert

Chile is one of the best places in the world to do astronomy, astrophotography and stargazing. The Atacama Desert in Chile stands out for its combination of minimal light pollution, clear skies, high altitude, and unique landscapes.

The "Sitial del Fuego" astronomical tour - starring nights,  talk about the culture, the myth and the legends of the Andeans and the desert of Atacama,  testing Chilean wine and food inspired from the ingredients of the surrounding area. The photo was done during this tour. Fire shadows and stars in the sky.

Astrophotography Adventure in Chile - Sitial del Fuego astronomical tour

Southern Hemisphere Astrophotography

If you saw Northern Hemisphere stars but you've never saw Southern Hemisphere night sky, you only know half the story. The southern night sky contains a greater range of interesting features.

Magellanic Clouds are visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bolivia Night Sky with Magellanic Clouds (two irregular dwarf galaxies) and Red AirGlow near horison. Hotel Tayka del Desierto (Ojo de Perdiz). Altitude about 4600 m / 15000 feet.

Southern Hemisphere Astrophotography Magellanic Clouds  Bolivia

Two cloud-like patches of light are the neighbouring galaxies known as the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. They are about 170,000 light years away and the Large Magellanic Cloud contains about 10,000 million stars. These are the closest galaxies to our own and are a stunning sight whether viewed with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. They are considered to be satellite galaxies linked by gravity to the Milky Way.

Southern Hemisphere Astrophotography: Magellanic Cloud, Southern Cross, Alpha and Beta Centauri,  Milky Way - Chile

Part of the Milky Way Panorama

Southern Hemisphere Astrophotography - Colors of Night Sky

Southern Hemisphere Astrophotography - Chile Astrophotography

Southern Hemisphere Milky Way Panorama - Bolivia Astrophotography

Southern Hemisphere Milky Way Mountain Bolivia Astrophotography

Unintentional Camera Movement Astrophotography

Most astrophotography relies on long-exposure images. Because the shutter stays open for several seconds—or even minutes—many things can happen during that time: the tripod can shift, the wind can blow, someone may touch the camera, or the lens focus or zoom can move. Sometimes the photographer doesn’t notice anything at the moment but later sees strange, unexpected results.

This idea fascinated me even back in middle school, when I first experimented with long exposures. My early photos often contained bright streaks or weird shapes. Some even looked like “UFOs” I never saw with my own eyes. Most likely they were reflections or car lights—but maybe not!

Today, there is a real creative technique called Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), where artists deliberately move the camera during long exposures to create surreal effects. But in this post I’m focusing on Unintentional Camera Movement (UCM)—the unpredictable accidents that sometimes create surprisingly cool images.

Below are two examples from my astrophotography trip to Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, one of the most unique landscapes on Earth. Both images were created by accident, but each tells its own story.

Unintentional Camera Movement Astrophotography - Warp Speed

In this first example, the light streaks appear to shoot outward from a single point—almost like the camera jumped to warp speed during the exposure. My best guess is that I accidentally changed the zoom during the shot, creating a rapid zoom-out effect. Long exposures can exaggerate even tiny movements into dramatic patterns.

Unintentional Camera Movement Astrophotography - Meteor Shower

This second photo looks almost like a meteor shower, with bright streaks of light falling in parallel lines. In reality, it was probably a combination of tripod shift and slight rotation during the long exposure. Even small movements can create surprisingly artistic patterns in the sky.

While these images weren’t planned, that’s part of the fun of astrophotography. Sometimes the accidents are just as interesting as the perfectly tracked shots. Unexpected motion can transform a simple night sky photo into something surreal and otherworldly.

Related Astrophotography Posts

• Watching the Sky & Observing Meteors — Cherry Springs
• Milky Forest — Testing the Canon Ra
• Arching Milky Way Over Arches National Park
• Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS
• Milky Way Over El Chaltén — Argentina

Bolivia Astrophotography - Salar de Uyuni at Night

It's something unreal. Photos were done during a Uyuni stargazing tour. Salar de Uyuni Bolivia Milky Way, Southern hemisphere sky, Crux constellation, red and green Airglow, elevation 3,650 m or 12,000 ft. Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat. Hexagonal formations on the surface is visible on photos. Such formation is a result of salt crystallization from evaporating water.

Canon EOS 60Da, 30 sec., Canon Lens EF16-35mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400, panorama of night sky.

Bolivia Astrophotography - Salar de Uyuni at Night

With 10,582 km^2, more than 10 billion tons of salt and containing up to 70% of the world’s lithium reserves, Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, a vast salt plain near the crest of the Andes in southwest Bolivia has amazing, fantastic night sky view!

Salar de Uyuni Milky Way Bolivia Astrophotography

Southern hemisphere night sky Milky  Way Bolivia Astrophotography

Zodiacal Light Bolivia Astrophotography

Zodiacal light - Bolivia Astrophotography - 2 hours after sunset (elevation: 4020 m / 13190 feet). Jupiter is on the top of the image. Photo was done near Hotel Jardines De Mallku Cueva, Bolivia. New Moon. Canon EOS 60Da, 25 sec., Canon Lens EF16-35mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400, panorama of 3 images. Digital cameras are more capable in collecting light, but even visually the Zodiacal light was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Zodiacal Light Bolivia Astrophotography

Zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse, and roughly triangular glow that is visible in the good dark night sky far from any light pollution and appears to extend from the Sun's direction and along the zodiac. The zodiacal light appears as a column, brighter at the horizon, tilted at the angle of the ecliptic. The light scattered from extremely small dust particles. The source of the dust probably originated from the tails of active comets.

There is color variation of the photo

Zodiacal Light Astrophotography

Black and White version of the Zodiacal Light - most close to what I saw.

Zodiacal Light Astrophotography Black and White

 

Acadia National Park, Maine USA - Astrophotography

Acadia National Park is one of the darkest place on the East Coast. It is amazing how good sky is here - amazing airglow and shadow from Milky Way. I not even expected something like this on the East Coast of US.

Acadia Astrophotography - Panorama of 4 Images Milky Way over Sand Beach

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 25.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 6400 - Four photos, Panorama

Acadia Astrophptography  Milky Way Night Landscape

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 12800 - One photo

Black and White Acadia Astrophotography

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 12800 - One photo

Night Landscape Canon Astrophotography Panorama Milky Way Acadia National Park Maine USA

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 25.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 6400 - 6 photos

Chasing the Milky Way - Acadia National Park

Rainbow Milky Way - Maine Astrophotography, Acadia National Park

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 25.0 sec;  f/2.8;  ISO 6400 - Panorama of 20 photos


I derived with my family and friends from New York to Acadia National Park about 10 hours. There was new moon and weather forecast for this night was good.  It was chance to get good dark sky.

While Mount Desert Island is not heavily populated and is remote, but some light pollution exists. So, some places in Acadia National Park are just with good dark sky. But some places are having amazing sky! Sand Beach, while just a 290-yard-long beach inlet between granite mountains, has a spectacular view of the night sky. On the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, this place has “Class 1” (out of 9) is absolutely, naturally dark — the darkest skies on earth! Such darkness sky in the Sand Beach can be attributed to two factors: location and park lighting. Newport cove protects the beach from most of the sky glow from major population centers on the island. The beach faces out to the dark open ocean. The surrounding topography blocks the line of sight from Bar Harbor preventing residual sky glow. Park lighting were design to minimized light pollution.

The Sand Beach was good choice.  The Galactic center region of the Milky Way casts obvious diffuse shadows on the ground. Airglow is readily apparent. The presence of Jupiter in the sky seems to degrade dark adaptation. Its big contrast between New York sky and Acadia National Park.

Mauna Kea Observatories, Big Island Hawaii

The purpose of life is the investigation of 

the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens.

— Anaxagoras, Philosopher

Mauna Kea is one of the best places in the planet for an astronomical observation. The elevation is about 4,200 meters (13,800 ft). The atmosphere above the mountain is extremely dry and cloud-free, the proportion of clear nights is among the highest in the world with minimum optical turbulence.

Below are photos from my visit to the Mauna Kea summit and the world-class observatories that operate there.

The Subaru Telescope, operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, is one of the largest single-mirror telescopes in the world. Its 8.2-meter primary mirror is designed for deep-sky surveys and high-resolution studies of galaxies, star formation, and the early universe.

From left to right the Smithsonian Submillimeter Array, the Subaru Telescope, the twin Keck I and II telescopes, and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility - Hawaii Mauna Kea Observatories

Note, that the Submillimeter Array is important component of the Event Horizon Telescope, which made photo of the Black Hole Shadow at the center of Messier 87 Galaxy.

W. M. Keck Observatory - Hawaii Mauna Kea Observatories

Big Island Hawaii Mauna Kea Observatories - W. M. Keck Observatory

Very Long Baseline Array Radio Telescope on Hawaii - Mauna Kea Observatories

The Mauna Kea antenna is part of the VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) — a continent-spanning radio telescope system that provides some of the highest-resolution observations in astronomy. Combining signals from antennas across the country creates a single “virtual telescope” the size of North America.

NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Hawaii Observatory

Operated by NASA, the IRTF specializes in infrared studies of planets, comets, asteroids, and near-Earth objects. It plays an essential role in planetary defense and Solar System science.

Above the Clouds - Hawaii Mauna Kea Big Island

Being above the inversion layer means that the summit sits above most weather, haze, and moisture. Standing at the top of Mauna Kea truly feels like being on an island floating in the sky.

Skydriving  Hawaii Mauna Kea

Sunset Hawai Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is famous for its spectacular sunsets. The sharp temperature drop and calm evening atmosphere create near-perfect observing conditions as the sky shifts from gold to deep blue.

Stargazing and Astrophotography near  MaunaKea Visitor Information Station

Night Sky MaunaKea Visitor Information Station

The MaunaKea Visitor Information Station (VIS) is located at 9,300 ft (2,800 m) — well below the observatories but still far above city lights. It is one of the best places on the island for public stargazing, astrophotography, and safe acclimatization before heading up to the summit.

Night skies here are extremely dark, and the Milky Way is bright even to the naked eye.

Mauna Kea remains one of the most scientifically important sites in the world — a place where cutting-edge astronomy combines with some of the clearest skies on Earth. Whether you are an astronomer, astrophotographer, or simply someone who loves the night sky, visiting Mauna Kea is a powerful and unforgettable experience.

Related Observatory Posts

• The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA)
• Lowell Astronomical Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona
• Long Island Astrophotography – Custer Astronomical Observatory
• Sky's The Limit Observatory
• Puerto Rico Radio-Telescope Arecibo Observatory
• Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography
• Northeast Astronomy Forum NEAF 2018

Hawaii Lunar Eclipse Jan 20 2019

During my Hawaii vacation in January 2019, I was expecting bright full-moon nights—not ideal for astrophotography. But I got extremely lucky: the trip coincided with the Total Lunar Eclipse of January 20, 2019! Even with the tropical humidity and moving clouds, the Moon looked beautiful as it entered Earth’s shadow.

This eclipse was visible across most of North and South America, but watching it from Hawaii made it especially memorable. The photo below captures the partial phase after totality had already ended. I was not able to photograph the red totality itself, but the post-totality view surrounded by clouds still looked dramatic.

Hawaii Lunar Eclipse Jan 20 2019

Even though I missed photographing the red totality, capturing the Moon in the post-totality partial phase glowing through clouds was still a memorable moment. Unexpected conditions sometimes create the most atmospheric astrophotography.

Photography Details

• Camera: Canon EOS 60D
• Lens: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
• Exposure: f/4.5
• ISO: 1000

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