Whatever Weds. A Starlit Night

Posted in Astro Photography, Night Sky, Night Sky Imaging, Starry NightTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

It’s that time of year when I yearn to be out imaging and gazing at the night sky. A friend and I went back down to Mono Lake to do just that. Thankfully, we didn’t have any clouds to worry about.

Milky Way the Great River in the Sky

The lake is really high eliminating a lot of the beach area we learned from our camping trip last month so, we knew to take our tall boots because standing in the lake might be our best bet for imaging. We scouted in the afternoon and found this spot. When we were leaving for dinner we ran into a Ranger who told us she would be giving a talk on the summer sky and constellations that evening on the beach and invited us back to attend it. We said we’d be there. The talk was a fast 2 hours. It was great hearing the stories the Native Americans tell about the stars and how they named the constellations and how to find them . The talk ended just after 10PM which was perfect as the Milky Way was already visible and we had some time to get to our spot in time for the Galactic Center to rise. The Galactic Center is the central region of our galaxy. The best months to photograph the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere are from May to August when the Galactic Center is highest in the sky and the weather is usually better in the warmer months.

We were standing in water to photograph this scene, but it wasn’t very deep, and the waves were gentle so we didn’t have to worry about a big one coming along and getting into our boots. 😊

I got home about lunch time yesterday, unpacked, got the car washed, and then started getting ready for a visit with my son and daughter-in-law. I’ll be on and offline for a bit. I hope your week and summer are going well.

Nikon D850|Nikkor 20mm F1.8G|

more to come…

38 thoughts on “Whatever Weds. A Starlit Night”

      1. Thank you so much, Steve! Getting a little reflection and water was the goal, but required standing in it to do it now that the lake is so high. I was told this summer that the lake is just 8 feet short of it’s goal height/capacity after winning the lawsuit to bring it back to a healthy amount to support the wildlife the area has and its ecosystem. I suppose that’s 8 cubic feet of water so, it’s going to get a little higher. That’s pretty cool.

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  4. I am late catching up this week, but I’m glad I saved this on. That is a beautiful photo. I appreciate your time and attention to detail to bring these photos to us. I hope you enjoy your visit.

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  6. After the arrival of hurricane Beryl last Monday, and the mess since then, all I could think of was how peaceful this scene looks. If I hadn’t been otherwise occupied, and if the roads had been cleared of debris, I should have made a trip to Galveston Island. With no power anywhere, the sky might have allowed a view like this — except for the high humidity that would have made the sky less clear.

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  7. What a glorious photo of the Milky Way! You were lucky to attend the Ranger’s talk and ‘be there’ to witness the beauty of the night sky. Thanks for sharing this, Deborah. Enjoy your visit.

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  9. Wow amazing photo. And the mention of Mono lake brings back vivid memories from 1991 when we went on the “tortoise tour” with a bunch of hippies and swam naked in Mono lake!!! 🤭

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    1. Thank you so much, Janis!! Yes, definitely on a tripod. My shutter speed was 25 seconds. You really need to push the ISO up though to get enough light to the sensor. Mine was 3200.
      Just get away from city lights to see it. It starts being visible after dark but by10 O’clock PM you should be able to see it. Pick a night with an early moon set or no moon for best viewing and look south.
      I wish I was closer to you I’d show you!

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  11. What a wonderful opportunity for you and your friend Deborah. Your pursuit paid off well, and what a gorgeous pic of the Milky Way. Yours is in a different position to ours. Lovely that you were able to take in the talk also. The stars have played an amazing part of the many cultures for different reasons, even our birds may use them to fly by night on long migrations, though we are not sure.

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    1. Thank you so much, Ashley! It still amazes me to think the birds migrate at night!! I thought for the longest time they just slept then and migrated during the day!

      I’ve never found the Southern Cross I need someone to point it out if I ever get an opportunity to be there and see the Milky Way there as well would be amazing.

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  13. That is a great shot Deborah! And the story about how you got it is just as good. It is wonderful to learn new things, it makes you see the world different. I’ve visited Mono Lake and it was very special, but this view of the sky above it is magic!

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    1. Thank you so much, Gordon! I’m sorry you didn’t get out last week, but what a blessing that returning fog is to Bay Area as it brings sweet relief from the heat with it.
      Hopefully, you’ll get out to shoot the MW soon! I plan to shoot it again when the timing is right so if you want to meet up let me know!
      I have a spot in mind for August.

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    1. Thank you so much, Ally!! Any time of day or night I’m there it has an Other Worldly feel to it. The landscape is so different it feels as if I’m on another planet. Our planet is amazing and fills me with awe quite often. 😊

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    2. That was my first thought, too: when did you get your very own Enterprise from Star Trek and traveled to a distant planet, and took the photo there?

      One can see how it’s easy to believe in legends when that’s the backdrop, no?

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