While traveling Morocco, I had the chance to stay in a tent in the Saharan Desert. Even though strong winds were raising tons of sand dust in the air, it calmed down during the night and the milky way core was visible at its most beautiful. Experiencing dark skies becomes more and more rare and having a chance to do so from time to time is such a rewarding experience.
Being from the middle of Europe, the stunning targets at the center of our Galaxy are not as accessible, as they lay low in the horizon. So, I concentrated my efforts in M8 and surrounding as well as the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud complex, another stunning target unaccessable to me.
Utilizing the full frame sensor of the astromodified Canon RP and the sharp and fast optics of the Samyang 135mm lens, I was delighted to see the field-of-view being fully filled by dark dust lines and compact concentrations of stars. This image literally contains the center of our own Galaxy!
I was extremely surprised and happy when this image was featured as Image of the Day on Astrobin. This is the first (and for now only) IOTD that I got. It is extremely competitive as it need to go through three stages of reviewing and the standard of astrophotographs on the website is very high. It is the more surprising that this rather simple image taken with simple equipment and with 1 hr of exposure time, was nominated IOTD. I am still waiting for the next one to come :D.
Technical Details
Frames
- 30×120″(1h) at ISO1250 f/2.8
Equipment
Samyang 135mm f/2
Astromodified Canon RP
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i
Sky Plot
If you are curious to know where to find the Core of the Milky Way, you can use this interactive Sky Plot built by Aladine Lite.