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

Arches National Park Astrophotography

I continue my astrophotography travels to compare how the night sky appears from different places around the world. The constellations are the same everywhere, yet the sky always looks different depending on latitude, landscape, and atmosphere. These images were captured during my trip to Arches National Park in Utah.

Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches, along with countless surreal rock formations. Even during the day, the landscape feels almost unreal — but at night it becomes truly extraordinary. Under dark, moonless skies, Arches reveals vivid airglow, subtle star colors, and an astonishingly rich Milky Way. Green, red, and faint spectral hues paint the sky, creating dramatic and colorful night landscapes that feel almost otherworldly.

With its minimal light pollution, unique foregrounds, and clear desert air, Arches National Park ranks among the best locations in the world for astrophotography and night landscape photography.

Camera: Canon EOS 60Da
Lens: Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposure: 20 s · f/3.5 · ISO 6400
Technique: Panorama of 40 images

Arching Milky Way - Arches Astrophotography 

Sailing the Milky Way.
We are all traveling together on a small spaceship called Earth, sailing through the Milky Way across space and time. This photograph is a visual metaphor for that idea — our planet moving silently beneath a rotating galaxy.

Canon EOS 60Da · EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM · 25 s · f/2.8 · ISO 6400 · Panorama (5 images)

Sail Milky Way over Park Avenue at Arches National Park Astrophotography

Stairway to Heaven.
The rising rock formations feel like steps leading upward, not through space, but through time. As the Milky Way arches overhead, the Earth quietly turns beneath our feet, carrying us higher along this cosmic staircase. This image is a reminder that even while standing still, we are always moving — upward, forward, and deeper into the universe.

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

Stairway to Heaven Arches - National Park Astrophotography Night landscape

Balanced Rock.
Balanced Rock is one of the most iconic landmarks of Arches National Park and a striking example of erosion at work. It is hard to understand how such a massive stone remains standing in perfect balance. Even in daylight it feels unreal — but at night, beneath the Milky Way, it becomes truly extraordinary.

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

Balanced Rock and Milky Way - Arches Astrophotography

Airglow Silhouette.
Balanced Rock appears as a pure silhouette, a dark stencil cut against the glowing night sky. Green-yellow airglow fills the background, while thin dark clouds add another layer of contrast. The result is a natural blend of night landscape and cosmic stencil art.

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

Airglow and Balanced Rock - Arches NP Astrophotography

And finally there are photos of arches.

Turret Arch and the Milky Way.
Turret Arch frames the glowing core of the Milky Way, creating a shape that almost feels like a cosmic “smoking gun.” I think on this picture we see evidence of ... Big Bang :) The illusion is playful, not literal — a reminder of how natural forms and deep space can echo one another. Moments like this are what make night landscape astrophotography both thoughtful and fun.

Canon EOS 60Da · EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM · 30 s · f/2.8 · ISO 6400 · Panorama (5 images)

Turret Arch and Milky Way - Arches National Park Astrophotography

Windows Arches to the Starry Sky.
The North and South Window Arches frame the starry sky like natural windows. While the rock remains fixed and ancient, the stars continue their slow motion across the night. This contrast gives the scene both stillness and movement.

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec; f/2.8; ISO 6400 - Panorama 5 images

North and South Windows Arches and Starry Sky - Arches National Park Astrophotography

Double Arch and the Milky Way.
The Milky Way rises above Double Arch, one of the most recognizable formations in Arches National Park. While the sandstone arches remain fixed and ancient, the star-filled sky continues its slow motion overhead. The image brings together geological time and cosmic time in a single night landscape.

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec; f/2.8; ISO 6400

Double Arch and Milky Way - Arches National Park Night Landscape Astrophotography

Arch over Arches.
A panoramic view turns the Milky Way itself into a luminous arch, stretching across the sky above Double Arch. Stone arches shaped by erosion and a cosmic arch shaped by perspective mirror one another in a single frame. It is a quiet alignment of geology and galaxy — an arch over arches.

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec; f/2.8; ISO 6400 - panorama of two photos

Rainbow Milky Way over Double Arch Panorama Astrophotography

Related Night Landscape & Milky Way Astrophotography

• Arching Milky Way over Arches National Park, Utah
• Balanced Rock — Arches National Park Night Landscape Astrophotography
• Milky Way Rainbow Panorama — Catskill Mountains, New York
• Yellowstone Night Landscape — Geyser Eruption Astrophotography
• Rainbow of the Milky Way and the Eternal Baobab — Tarangire, Tanzania
• Milky Way Casting Shadows — San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Green Sky Utah Airglow Astrophotography Canon 60Da

The sky is green, the night is dark - as simple as possible. This photo was done at Bryce Canyon, Utah. Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec; f/3.5; ISO 6400

Green Sky Utah Airglow Astrophotography Canon 60Da

The natural moonless night sky is dark but not black; it is not even blue (no scattering light from sun and moon). Earth atmosphere  emits green, red, orange, yellow light- Airglow!

About 60% of the natural brightness of the night sky at zenith is made up of Airglow. Maximum brightest usually appears at about 10-15 degrees above the horizon, because of the greater the depth of atmosphere at this angle. Airglow is not always uniform. Gravity waves may create considerable variation of Airglow brightness.

You can see Airglow only in real dark sky, but naked eye could not recognize colors. Photos with long exposure able get the colors of Airglow.

The usually dominant color of airglow is green originated from molecular oxygen at 90 to 100 km high. Orange and reddish hue caused by atomic oxygen in 150-300 km above the ground, Yellow light comes from sodium atoms in a layer at about 90 km.

Airglow Astrophotography - Bryce Canyon National Park - Sunset Point

Night sky with green airglow, the Milky Way, Seven Sisters (Pleiades) and Andromeda Galaxy is on the top; hoodoos, caused by erosion over many millennia, are on the bottom. This photo was done from my trip to Bryce Canyon in Sunset Point.

Beginner tip: if the night sky looks green in very dark conditions, it is usually natural airglow — not a mistake. Truly dark skies are rarely blue. Do not use Photoshop to make the sky “blue”; green, yellow, and red tones are natural colors of the dark night sky.

Airglow Astrophotography in Bryce Canyon National Park

Canon 60Da, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 30.0 sec; f/3.5; ISO 6400

On this picture you can see a lot of green color on the sky. If this is real color or just effect of camera filter? This question directly connected to other question “What is natural color of night sky?”

I started to learn astronomy many years ago reading the book with black and white pictures. So in these books I didn't see color picture of the natural sky. Most of time I was living in big city with a lot of light pollution, and I am not able to see natural color of sky.

Still remember when first time recognize that some starts has color and after that read article about color of stars cannot be green. After that article I assumed that green color is very rear on the sky. But this is not correct.

Most of Comet Tails has green color. Some Nebular are green too. Northern Light mostly has green colors. But Northern Light visible only near North Pole, comets are rear so still assume that this green colors are exceptions. When I started see Internet picture I saw a lot of strange colors so assuming that these is Photoshop. Especially after reading article how to remove light pollution in Photoshop. And only made some my own pictures I recognized that green color from Airglow effect is gives a lot of green on the natural sky. So a green color is pretty common on the natural sky too.

This photo got about 1.5K likes on National Parks Traveler Facebook

National Parks Traveler Facebook Astrophotography

Related Astrophotography Posts

• Milky Way over Sunset Point of Bryce Canyon – Astrophotography
• Arching Milky Way over Arches National Park – Utah
• Different Types of Milky Way Night Landscape – Stair, Sail, Arch
• Milky Way over Yellowstone Old Faithful Geyser
• A Tree and the Milky Way – Bethel, New York
• Unintentional Camera Movement – Bolivia Night Photography
• Removing Light pollution Astrophotography Urban Astronomy

White Lake, New York - Astrophotography

This series of night-sky photographs was captured in Upstate New York, in the Catskill Mountains near White Lake and the historic London Cottages Resort. Although the Catskills are not considered a true dark-sky location, they still offer rewarding astrophotography opportunities under clear summer nights.

These images document a mix of calm lake reflections, starry skies framed by trees, distant clouds, and quiet rural roads illuminated only by starlight. They reflect a style of astrophotography that emphasizes atmosphere and place as much as the night sky itself.

All photographs were taken using a modified Canon EOS 60Da — a DSLR designed for astrophotography — paired with the ultra-wide-angle Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Night Reflection - White Lake, Catskill, New York

London Cottages at night - White Lake Catskill New York Upstate

Cloudy Night Sky at Catskill Mountains NY Upstate

Trees and Starry Night - Canon 60Da

Catskill  Bungalows White Lake NY Upstate Night Sky Astrophotography

New York Milky Way

Night Road and Starry Sky

Related Astrophotography Posts:

• Canon 60Da Milky Way Astrophotography Catskill Mountains Upstate NY New York
• Milky Way Over Yosemite National Park
• Antelope Canyon at Night – Arizona Astrophotography
• Cherry Springs State Park – Modern Nightscape Series