As the Milky Way core returns to the night sky in the early morning hours, I had the privilege of capturing its brilliance in Joshua Tree National Park at the beginning of February.

While scouting for compositions in the afternoon, I discovered this elegant S-curve in the road, framed beautifully by a striking Joshua Tree on the right. Using the PlanIt Photo app, I confirmed that the rising Milky Way would align perfectly with the scene - an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

To add an extra dynamic element, I timed my shot to capture a passing car, its headlights illuminating the tree and its taillights painting a vivid red trail along the road, creating a leading line towards the star-filled heavens.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by EOS 4Astro
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sunwayfoto T2840CK tripod

Sky:
Stack of 7x 45s @ ISO800, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO3200, filtered

Foreground:
Single exposure of 30s @ ISO320, f/8 during twilight

Tags:   California Joshua Tree Joshua Tree National Park car trails Milky Way Rho Ophiuchi Astrophotography Astronomy Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified Narrobanding Sigma Sigma 28mm f/1.4

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I captured this panorama during my Namibia vacation in 2023. It shows the setting Milky Way arching over one of the iconic dead trees in the Namib Rand Desert.

On my YouTube channel I try a new form of presenting such a big image, which not only allows me to zoom in and show the true resolution of the panorama, it also gives me the opportunity to showcase a few of the astronmical wonders it contains and share some insights about them.

You find this astronomy tour through the panorama on my YouTube channel:
youtu.be/aL8K9k754M0?si=7dSHyKyQR95S6O0M

Thanks for watching and I love to hear your feedback about how you like this form of presenting an image.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by EOS 4Astro
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
Panorama of 10 panels, each a stack of 7x 45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 90s @ ISO6400, filtered

Foreground:
Focus stacked panorama of 10 panels, each a stack of 4x 1/30s @ ISO100 during blue hour.

Tags:   Astrophotography Astronomy Milky Way Namibia Namib Desert Nightsky Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Panorama Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified IDAS IDAS NBZ Narrowband Narrobanding Sigma Sigma 28mm f/1.4 iOptron Skytracker Airglow Milky Way Arc

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Namibia is renowned for its breathtakingly dark skies, iconic landscapes, and remarkable flora and fauna. These natural wonders can be experienced in comfort from luxurious lodges that seamlessly integrate with the stunning surroundings.

Thankfully, many of these lodges employ responsible nighttime lighting, helping to preserve the pristine night sky. This thoughtful approach makes it possible to capture stunning nightscapes directly from the lodge premises, a feature I thoroughly enjoyed during my 2023 family vacation in Namibia.

One such lodge is Camp Kipwe, located near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Twyfelfontein Valley. Camp Kipwe serves as an excellent base for exploring the famous desert elephants of the Huab River and visiting the ancient petroglyphs.

After a fulfilling yet demanding day that included a six-hour safari and a visit to the petroglyphs, I was able to conveniently capture the beauty of the night sky just a few steps from our bungalow.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
Panorama of 2 panels, each a stack of 7x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered

Foreground:
Focus stack of 4x 3s @ ISO800 during twilight

Tags:   Milky Way Namibia Nightsky Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified Narrowband Narrobanding

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This panorama features two striking arches: Namibia’s iconic Spitzkoppe Arch in the foreground and the luminous arch of the Milky Way spanning the sky above it.

But how many galaxies can you spot here? Four are prominently visible. The most recognizable, of course, is the Milky Way, our home galaxy.

On the far left of the image are the Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies currently passing close to the Milky Way and interacting with its gravitational pull. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) hugs the horizon, while the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) sits higher in the sky. The bright "star" near the SMC is 47 Tucanae, the second-brightest globular cluster in the Milky Way. Containing millions of stars, it coincidentally aligns almost perfectly with the more distant SMC.

The fourth galaxy appears as a small smudge on the far right of the image. Despite its modest appearance, this is the Andromeda Galaxy, the largest member of our local group of galaxies, boasting an impressive diameter of 150,000 light-years.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by EOS 4Astro
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
IDAS NBZ filter

Sky:
Panorama of 10 panels, each a stack of 7x45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered, f/2

Foreground:
Panorama of 10x 150s @ ISO3200, f/2.8

Tags:   Namibia Spitzkoppe Arch Milky Way Astrophotography Astronomy Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Panorama Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified

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As the year draws to a close, many people share collections of their favorite images from past posts. While I could do the same, I prefer to focus on the wealth of unprocessed data waiting on my hard drives.

Here’s a newly processed image from Mono Lake, which had been sitting in my backlog for far too long. It captures a memorable moment from the final night of my 2023 astrophotography trip.

The plan was to meet my friend Roi Levi, who drove up from L.A. to join me. Unfortunately, his car broke down just a few miles from Mono Lake. But that didn’t stop him - true to his dedication, he instructed the tow truck driver to drop him at our meeting point. Once there, he transferred his gear into my car, and we spent the night photographing the stunning tufas of Mono Lake.

His determination was well rewarded: we were treated to perfect conditions and a brilliant display of airglow along the horizon. For this panorama, I aimed to enhance the sky’s vibrant colors with subtle low-level lighting on the foreground. The result is, certainly, as colorful as a mono image can get.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting

Sky:
Panorama of 11 panels, each a stack of 7x 45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered

Forground:
Panorama of 11x 60s @ ISO3200

Tags:   Mono Lake Tufa Nightscape Starscape Astrophotography Astronomy Milky Way Milky Way Arc Panorama Long Exposure Night Landscape Low Level Lighting Colors Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified Sigma Sigma 28mm f/1.4 Narrowband Nightsky California

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