Celestial Reunion

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 10, 2011553 views19 comments

Hi NPNers!

I was photographing the Milky Way and was lucky to get a sporadic meteor in the photo, I liked the result so here it is.

At the left of the Milky Way you will find the Magellan Clouds, two big satellite galaxies of the Milky Way that are only visible from the south hemisphere, they are really big and easy to see with the naked eye without light pollution.

And yes, I have some earthling regular clouds in the photo too

Taken with a 5DII,14-24 lens,F2.8,ISO1600 and 2 minutes of exposure using an Astrotract motor.

Thanks for your feedback!
Luis

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on September 10, 2011 at 5:29 PM

Hey Luis, Wow, what an amazing sky. Pretty cool with the meteor too. I like that you can see the Magellan Clouds so well (something I know nothing about) but I like what they do for the image. Nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on September 10, 2011 at 6:18 PM

This is really nice, Luis. I like the inclusion of the earthly clouds. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are very beautiful.

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on September 10, 2011 at 8:12 PM

Beautiful celestial scene Luis! Beautiful night sky with a lot of visual action.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by David Bostedo on September 10, 2011 at 8:36 PM

Terrific shot Luis... and a nice composition.

Registered on May 5, 2006, 178 Posts, 2224 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on September 10, 2011 at 8:38 PM

As i told Steve S below, i think there should be a tax on shots of the Milky Way, ive seen so many of them lately on NPN. it's become more of a technical exercise than an art. I do like the clarity of the stars here though thanks tothe motor, and the Magellan clouds are a nice addition, as are the clouds, so maybe i'll spare you the tax

Shouldnt a meteor be streaking downwards other than up?

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on September 10, 2011 at 9:24 PM

Luis,

Spectacular image. The Magellan Clouds make this one special. The overall sky color is unique as well.

Stan, the direction of the meteor depends on where its source is and they can radiate in any direction.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on September 10, 2011 at 10:28 PM

Awesome Luis, your night skies always blow me away. Great shot.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on September 11, 2011 at 2:26 AM

Astrotract good, and so is this stunning star shot.

The shape of the earth clouds work well, you have just the right amount of mountain and the shooting star is a plus.
I want more.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on September 11, 2011 at 5:03 AM

Wow what a great starscape! Love the clarity of this one together with all the details like the Magellan Clouds & the meteor.

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on September 11, 2011 at 1:05 PM

Thank you for the Feedback!!

@Stan: I'm glad to have escaped the Milky Way Tax! I thought the clouds and the meteor made this a little more than just a Milky Way shot, maybe on the nose? About the meteor they can go in any direction. This meteor was a sporadic one, not related to any meteor shower. Most meteor showers favour the North Hemisphere so the shower radiant is usually low in the horizon for me and I'm used to see meteors coming from the horizon upwards.

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Basil Greber on September 11, 2011 at 2:35 PM

I like the composition. Great, with all those elements in the frame. I think it's very orange, though. I'd try pushing it a bit more towards the blue spectrum. Just my personal taste, though.

Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on September 11, 2011 at 3:57 PM

Very nice. I like the warmth and variety that the clouds adds to the image, and how it appears to be behind the image. I think the southern hemisphere has prettier stars than we do here in the north.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Palmieri on September 11, 2011 at 7:40 PM

Love everything about this one! Nice job. With all the cool stuff going on here, I think the clouds put it over the top.

Registered on September 1, 2011, 35 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on September 12, 2011 at 10:12 AM

Nice starscape Luis. I think this would work even without the FG which is a bit distracting due to the blur caused by the astrotract. Did you happen to shoot a seperate exposure to blend in?

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on September 12, 2011 at 2:19 PM

Nice capture of the night sky. Using tracking makes quite a difference

I recently bought the Astro Tracker for my tripod, and looking forward to my trip to Arizona in November to try it out! Unfortunately no Magellan Clouds for me.

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on September 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM

Thanks for the feedback!

@Zack: I didn't shoot an extra exposure for the ground this time. I normally do but I didn't notice the meteor until a few minutes later and then I was in a different place

. I tried to minimize the ground for this shot.

@James: You'll have a lot of fun with your Astrotrac. It's much easier to setup in the North Hemisphere, just point it to Polaris and you are ready to go. No Magellan clouds but you have Andromeda!. A landscape with Andromeda in it would be awesome!

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Pavel Cakl on September 12, 2011 at 4:49 PM

Hi Luis, I would remove the foreground as it is not really nice but other than that it is amazing shot !

Registered on April 8, 2010, 7 Posts, 178 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on September 13, 2011 at 2:52 AM

Yes the Andromeda Galaxy was in the plans. I will also play with telephoto options and shoot the southern sky. The Rosette Nebula, with an interesting foreground would also be nice. I will have to go with two separate exposures since I will be using tracking for the night sky.

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on September 19, 2011 at 4:27 AM

Stunner!!!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments