The "Milky Way" test of a boondocking site

After posting, I just clicked on the "full size image" button, and the photo looks somewhat brighter in full size.

First "Milky Way" post in a long time. This was taken early this month just east of the Eastern Sierra, between Mammoth and Bridgeport, Calif. The bright star field is the galactic center of the Milky Way. With the help of a 20 second exposure, the galaxy lit up the snowy peaks:


Click For Full-Size Image.

Unfortunately, the really dark skies of the West are shrinking, too. We were camped near Zion recently -- much more light pollution from nearby towns than there was ten years ago.

Great picture. Almost impossible to find such a place however east of the big river. North Central PA, WV, the Catskills of NY, VT and ME, UP of MI, and some select areas along the Appalachians.

The photo posting app somehow altered the colors of one of those images, so I re-edited it to look more true-to-life:


Click For Full-Size Image.

This shot was taken in early March of 2020, a few days before Covid arrived. This was taken on BLM land near Tioga Pass – that's Parker Peak, right under Orion. There was some moonlight, which interferes with the stars, but the snow was shining brightly:


Click For Full-Size Image.

And this next shot was taken in early April of 2021, just after we were fully vaccinated. This was also taken on BLM land, east of Capitol Reef National Park. The mountains in this photo are part of the Waterpocket Fold.

There were so many stars that it was hard to see the constellations. In this shot, Orion's sword is directly over the trailer. Sirius is in the upper left. And there is a faint meteor trail near Betelgeuse, which we did not see until we got home and viewed the photo on the computer.


Click For Full-Size Image.

The stars were so bright that after our eyes had fully adapted to the darkness, we could see pretty well, even though the bright galactic center of the Milky Way had not yet risen above the horizon. There was no light pollution at all at this campsite -- some of the darkest skies we've ever seen. It's very rare that the only light to be seen is starlight, all the way down to the horizon, with no artificial light at all.

I'm hoping to see the bright part of the Milky Way again this summer – it has been almost two years without seeing it.

Horton Creek BLM Campground, Bishop, Calif., in late September of 2019:


Click For Full-Size Image.

The bright star on the right is Jupiter, and the peak on the right is Mt. Tom.

In that photo, I tried to "paint" the foreground with a flashlight during a time exposure. It sort of worked, but not perfectly -- it is very hard to get just enough light on the foreground without overdoing it.

philh wrote:
We're going to mi northern lower peninsula in a couple of weeks. I'm afraid we'll still have too much light to get a good photo, but want to try

Check out the Dark Sky park west of Mackinaw City. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Even though there may be some light pollution, all is not lost. Check out this link -- they explain the technique of "exposure to the right." If you have a DSLR, or even a good point and shoot with a "histogram," you might be able to use this trick. (I have never tried it, myself, but there may come a time when I need it!)

How to get decent star shots despite light pollution

We're going to mi northern lower peninsula in a couple of weeks. I'm afraid we'll still have too much light to get a good photo, but want to try