Lunar Eclipse & Milky Way - Deep Sky Mosaic / May 2022

            The deep, long exposure of 35 - 45 minutes per panel visualizes the fabulous details of galactic dust lanes and the spectacular color details in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. However, the most fascinating and surprising detail is the visualization of the moon's motion relative to the stars, which caused a red glowing moon trail during the eclipse. 

The lunar eclipse of May 2022 and the famous dark sky conditions of La Palma allowed me to strive for a more complex project. I collected data for three nights to get a widefield mosaic including the lunar eclipse, deep sky objects and the Milky Way. I had never attempted such an image with a longer lens during an astronomical event, and I had no way to get a second chance. My excitement was raised by the moon's alignment with Rho Ophiuchi and the Milky Way, but the processing mess afterward made me almost lose hope due to my lack of experience. 

On May 7 & 8, I shot three panels of 65 subs in advance. Enough time until daybreak since the moon was about getting brighter and more present until full moon on May 16th, when I added the eclipse panel of 92 subs. Since I hiked way up into the mountains to work on some nightscape Panos with another camera contemporaneously, my setup had to be as simple as possible. No guiding, no computer, no counterweight - just a cotton bag filled with stones to stabilize my tripod. 

EXIF
Nikon D800a & 85mm f/1.8
Vixen Polarie Star Tracker 

4 Panel Panorama 
Tracked / Stacked / Blend
220 x 30s - ISO 4000 - f/2.5

Eclipse 92x30s (4:52 - 06:01)
Moon blend 14s - ISO 800 - f/5 

Software
DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop, Starnet++, PTGui
   

Taken on: March 6, 2023

Tags:

nebula

Star tracker

cosmic

Universe

solar System

Milky Way chaser

nightscape

astronomy

astro

Stars

Deep sky mosaic

Panorama

Mosaic

La Palma

blood moon

moon

rho ophiuchi

Lunar eclipse

Long exposure

Night

Deep sky

Milky Way « less

Sets appears in: • La Palma • Nightscapes more » • LONG EXPOSURE • Milky Way Photography « less

Groups appears in: • The Photographer's Club • Long Exposure more » • Artistic Photography • La Palma • Beautiful Canary Islands • Night Panorama (read the guidelines) • Long Exposure Times • Long Exposures • The Milky Way • Endless Exposures (Long exposures over 1 minute) • Astro-Photography and Similars • Night Panoramas • Longer Exposure, Extreme Neutral Density • Night and darkness • night on earth... • Canarias y sus Fotógrafos • *sensational sky...looking up!* • Astro Reality • Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year • Sky @ Night • Extreme Exposure • Astronomy Photos • Night Photography Group • Long Exposure Is Long (over 30 seconds) • Night Landscape Photography • night photography. • Night Explorers • The Long Exposure • Photographen Leipzig und Umgebung • APOD Submissions • Milky-Way • Astroscape • Astrophotography - The Solar System and Beyond • Milky Way Rainbows • Star Trails & Milky Way • The Milky Way above... • Astro Photography • CSSS: Astro - Milky Way « less

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