Milky Way Over Arch Rock: A Journey in Astrophotography

This image captures my first planned landscape astro shot, featuring Arch Rock with the Milky Way rising majestically in the background. I'm thrilled to have also captured the subtle green airglow.

Scouting the location with all the necessary gear was no small feat, but the results made it all worthwhile!

Technical Details:

• Sky: 20-panel panorama, each panel captured with 10 exposures of 57 seconds, using a tracker.
• Foreground: 20 untracked panels, each with 57-second exposures.
• Processing: Stacking and stitching performed in Pixinsight and PT GUI, with the final blended result enhanced in Pixinsight and Photoshop.
• Camera: Canon EOS 6D (Ha-modified)
• Lens: Sigma 28mm f1.4
• Tracker: iOptron Skyguider Pro

The Path to the Perfect Shot: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

Achieving this shot was a journey filled with challenges, requiring multiple attempts and creative problem-solving:

Night 1: The Initial Reconnaissance

Last Thursday in April, my plan was to capture the Milky Way before moonrise. However, after hiking half a mile in pitch-black conditions with my gear at 2:00 AM and using an augmented reality tool, I discovered the Milky Way would still be below Arch Rock by the time the moon was set to rise at 4:30 AM. I returned, adjusted my plans, and captured the Milky Way at a different site.

Night 2: Setbacks and Wider Views

Another Thursday night (weekends are too crowded with campers, and clouds are frequent), I arrived at 2:30 AM. My intention was to shoot with a 40mm lens, but I soon realized it wasn't wide enough for my vision. I also encountered unwanted landscape lights. I moved to a new location, managed some unstructured shots without a clear goal, but the lens limitations were apparent.

Night 3: Technical Glitches and Unexpected Companionship

During an early May weekday night, I arrived at the site, only to find my new intervalometer malfunctioning. After a trek back to my car for my laptop, I managed to perform the interval shoot using it. It was during this time that I encountered another astrophotographer from Las Vegas, and we shared the dark, quiet hours shooting. Exhausted, I returned straight to work without sleep.

Upon reviewing the images, I noticed a distracting purple patch. I discovered that my astro-modified camera was picking up light leaking from its own liveview. My initial attempts to remove this glow using dark frames (captured at the same temperature as the sky shots) were partially successful but not perfect. This experience led me to decide to reshoot with the camera's liveview turned off.

Night 4: The Successful Capture

Another Thursday night (as is often the case!), I returned to the site with the correct camera intervalometer setup. This time, everything went smoothly, and I was able to capture the stunning panorama you see here.

My sincere thanks to my wife for her understanding and support throughout this entire process!

This endeavor was a true test of patience and perseverance, but the satisfaction of capturing such a breathtaking scene makes every hurdle worth overcoming.