A Glimpse of the Milky Way: My First Astrophotography Endeavor
As a budding enthusiast, I recently had the incredible opportunity to capture a small portion of our majestic Milky Way. The location: the beautiful skies of Liguria, Italy, on the night of August 12th, 2025. This image is the result of my first serious attempt at deep-sky astrophotography, and I'm excited to share the journey and the final outcome.
The Setup and Settings
To capture this celestial wonder, I utilized the following equipment and settings:
- Camera: Fujifilm X-H2S
- Lens: Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4
- Tripod: Manfrotto MK190-XPRO3-3W (static)
- ISO: 640
- Aperture: f/1.4
- Shutter Speed (per exposure): 8 seconds
Acquisition Details
My pursuit of this image involved the following data acquisition:
- Lights: 100 frames (8 seconds each)
- Darks: 50 frames
- Flats: 50 frames
- Bias: 50 frames
This resulted in a total exposure time of 13 minutes and 20 seconds.
The Night Under the Stars
The conditions on the night were a mix. The sky, while rated Bortle 4, did have a bit of mist that played a role in the final result. In almost every frame, a satellite streaked across, a common occurrence when shooting from certain locations. There was also a minor presence of light pollution, and the Moon began to rise later in the night, adding its own illumination to the sky.
Processing Journey
After acquiring the data, I stacked and processed the images using Siril, a powerful free and open-source astronomical image processing software. The final touches and color correction were done in Photoshop.
One significant challenge I encountered was substantial vignetting in the stacked image. This led to a massive crop, as I had to remove the darker, distorted edges. I suspect the issue might be related to the flat frames, and it's something I'm actively investigating for future shoots.
Looking Ahead
This image represents one of my very first attempts at astrophotography. It's a learning process, and I'm incredibly grateful for any advice or feedback from the community. The challenges encountered, like vignetting and the need for careful calibration frames, are all part of the journey to improving my skills.
Stay tuned for more cosmic adventures!
