Milky Way Over Georgia's Highest Point: A Stacked Astrophotography First

This past July, I had the incredible opportunity to capture a truly spectacular view: the Milky Way stretching across the night sky, directly over the highest point in Georgia, USA. Brasstown Bald, perched on the border with South Carolina, offers a pristine location far from the light pollution that plagues most urban areas. The journey to this scenic overlook was as rewarding as the view itself, with the added excitement of encountering local wildlife along the way!

This image represents my very first attempt at a stacked panorama, a technique that significantly enhances the detail and signal-to-noise ratio in astrophotography. It's a two-panel stitch, meticulously captured to showcase the grandeur of our galaxy.

The Setup: Gear and Settings

Achieving a shot like this requires careful planning and the right equipment. Here's a breakdown of the gear and settings used:

• Camera: Canon R8
• Lens: RF 15-35mm (shot at 15mm)
• Aperture: f/2.8
• White Balance: 3800k
• ISO: 3200
• Tripod: Falcam Treeroot tripod with an L-bracket for stable panoramic shooting.

Capturing the Cosmos: Acquisition Details

To create this detailed panorama, I employed a specific stacking strategy for each panel:

Bottom Panel:

• Foreground: A single 30-second exposure to capture the landscape.
• Sky: Four 13-second exposures, stacked to reduce noise and bring out faint details.

Top Panel:

• Sky: Five 13-second exposures, stacked for maximum detail in the galactic core.

Bringing the Stars to Light: Processing Workflow

Post-processing is crucial in astrophotography to reveal the hidden beauty of the night sky. My workflow involved several steps:

1. Initial Editing: Color and lighting adjustments were made to the 13-second sky exposures in Adobe Lightroom.
2. Stacking: Starry Landscape Stacker was used to combine the multiple exposures for each panel, significantly improving the image quality.
3. Foreground Integration: The foreground exposure was meticulously merged with the lower portion of the stacked sky in Adobe Photoshop.
4. Panoramic Stitch: The two processed panels were then combined into a seamless panorama using Lightroom.
5. Final Touches: Minor edits and refinements were completed back in Lightroom to ensure the best possible final result.

The Result

Witnessing the Milky Way from such a vantage point, especially after applying stacking techniques for the first time, was an incredibly rewarding experience. The effort invested in the capture and processing truly brought the celestial wonders to life.

I'm thrilled with how this first stacked panorama turned out and am excited to continue exploring the night sky with these techniques!