An enjoyable evening under the stars.

[Wayland]

I’ve had a layman's interest in astronomy since first looking into the dark skies of my childhood.

This developed later into a basic recognition of the celestial bodies needed to navigate in emergencies and more recently I have started to include the night sky in my photography.

It therefore makes perfect sense for me to follow up this rough knowledge and study the subject in a little more depth.

As luck would have it I discovered a small band of enthusiastic astronomers with a well equipped observatory no more than ten miles from my home.

The Astronomy Centre near Todmorden is dedicated to the furtherance of Amateur Astronomy and welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities.

The evening I spent with the group members was cool and clear for the most part but I was greeted with warmth and good company. I was also very impressed with the advice and equipment available for use.

On arrival I soon spotted the opportunity for this shot.



I use a simple Astronomy App on my iPad to help predict the positions of objects in the night sky so I knew that the Milky Way would rise across the sky in roughly this position shifting westward as the night progressed.

This image is produced from some early test shots that I made while setting up. I was hoping for a slightly more diagonal position but sadly the sky clouded over slightly as the real darkness set in.

As you can see, there is some light pollution which is to be expected near to so many major conurbations but I was actually surprised how dark the sky here was with the site nestled between a ring of low hills.

I’m sure you will see much more from me at this location in the future.

[Nancy Moran G]

Very nice. It is so great when you find a group/ club nearby that has just what you are looking for! I am sure you will make good use of it, and I look forward to your photos.
What is the app you used? I have 1 that shows current stars, but do not know how to see where they will rise/move etc.
Thank you,
Nancy

[Wayland]

I'm using SkySafari which allows you to push the clock forward or back as far as you like. I find this very useful when planning a shot both at home and on location.

It will still allow you to use the gyro/compass function so I can actually see the sky position in advance while setting up.

There are three versions of the App and the one I'm using is the mid range one which does everything I need and more.

[Sergio M.]

Wayland, great practical application of your interest in astronomy. I like the contrast between the stars and the man made structure.

Thank you for the information on the SkySafari app. I can see where that will come in very handy.

Sergio

[Nancy Moran G]

Wayland, thanks for that app info. I have only tried a few star shots but am going to do ALOT more of them.
How did you stack them, program wise...
Nancy

[Wavelength]

very interesting...hope to see more of this kind...wish you all the best

[Wayland]

This was from three images in PhotoShop.

One for the background with parts of the building overexposed.

Another to burn in those overexposed parts and the last was a brighter exposure of the upper sky.

All stacked in as layers, manually aligned and then masked as required.