our galaxy

the milky way has been on my to do list for a while. here's a shot from the desert:

Milky Way 7/21/2020, Sheep Hole Valley Wilderness,  Mojave Desert

my best to date, though somewhat anticlimactic as it was a 20 second afterthought while shooting comet neowise

another edge on galaxy for comparison:

NGC 3628 35 million light years away
2007

previous attempts:

Hetch Hetchy, stacked images, dark skies old out of focus DSLR
2019

wide field stack from light polluted skies
2018 webcam

first ever 2004.  the faint "smoke" coming out of the chimney is the milky way, totally by accident

image details:

sheep hole valley wilderness, mojave desert, CA

7/21/20 10:00 PM pacific

nikon D850

wide field: Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG fisheye

20 sec ISO 25,600

NGC 3628

4/12-17/07

los alamitos, CA

N8 GPS, F/6.3 FR @~1280mm, SX AO @~4Hz, IDAS LPR, H9C

45x20 minutes

7/7/19 

Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, California

Nikon D60

stock lens (18-55) @18 mm f/3.5

sky watcher star adventurer mount (tracking stars)

88x30 sec ISO 400

even with dark subtraction, there was significant amp glow, hence the desaturation.

8/12/18 to 4 AM 8/13/18 AM PDT (until clouded out)

Eastbluff

Southern California

ZWO ASI 290MC

stock fisheye lens with home made cardboard dew shield and kendrick dew heater

Shutter=20.0s

Gain=100 (16%)

20 second exposures continuously

2004

Canon digital rebel

stock lens