Just thought You'd like to Know...

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located just above the peak of the barn roof where the bulk of the white stuff is. The right center rearing upward is the Dark Horse of the Milky Way, a massive cloud of dust that blocks the view of the stars behind it. We, that is the earth, are located on one of the outer spiral bands of the M.W. orbiting the sun slightly canted from the center line of the Milky Way. During the Spring and Summer our night sky (northern Hemisphere) is facing toward the center portion of the spiral. In the Fall and Winter it is facing away from the center. That is why the Milky Way in all of its grandeur is visible mostly during the summer and not so much so during the winter. Just though you'd like to know...:)

What the Eye Can't See

I am constantly amazed at the quality and dynamic images being created of the night sky. Some of them are so amazing they defy the senses. I've discover it is not easy to accomplish such images even under the best of situations. Recently I stumbled onto an idea that seems to work pretty well at capturing what one feels when photographing the night sky. It's called simply enough creating a composite.

Composites are where you combine two images to make one. Usually, one image involves some kind of foreground and the other an image of the sky. The results can be staggering. What you must avoid is creating something that just doesn't look real and that is easier said than done.

What is amazing to me is what a long exposure can capture. What you see in a night sky image is what is
actually there, it's just not readily seen with the eye. So by combining a long exposure of the sky with a foreground image can create what the sky would look like if we could see thru the thick haze and light pollution.