Nikon d810a
85mm
ISO 3200
f/2
Foreground: 25 x 25 seconds
Sky: 167 x 20 seconds
H-Alpha: 18 x 60 seconds
This is a 210 shot panorama of the Milky Way and the setting Moon at Green Head, 3 hours north of Perth in Western Australia. The Moon can be seen peaking through the 'window' of Window Rock, a rocky outcrop just off shore at one of the several beaches in the area. I had planned this image several years ago but the conditions required for the shot have never been favourable until this season. I took the foreground shots first, just before the Moon had set then captured the sky shots after it had set.
The prominent red parts of the image are hydrogen alpha emitting regions captured thanks to a special filter that isolates that part of the spectrum. On the far right, just above the horizon, is the Cygnus region which includes the North America Nebula. Near the centre is Zeta Ophiuchi and to the left of that is the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex.
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