Finally!

Galactic Center Rising at the Stone Barn

The weather gods cooperated, the night sky this morning was beautiful and clear except for a rare cloud.  Although the peak of the meteor showers past three days ago, I was hoping that we could capture some in this beautiful night sky.  We started off at the Stone Barn property of Allens Pond Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary.  Though the galactic center of the Milky Way was just starting to rise, but it was hidden mostly by the trees.  Scorpius was very visible, along with Mars, which was very near the constellation and to the left of Mars was Saturn. While we were at the Stone Barn, we only observed one meteor.

Night Sky

We then traveled down to Gooseberry, with the Milky Way galactic center present in all its glory.  Directly over our heads, was the big dipper, pointing to Polaris and then on to Cassiopeia.

Milky Way at Gooseberry

It was an enjoyable night to be out, finally, it was not too cold and no mosquitoes present as yet.  Since we are just past the new moon.  This is a great time to see and photograph the Milky Way.  The Milky Way galactic center is rising from the southeast between 11-12 o'clock.

Today's photos were taken with a Nikon D810, Rokinon 14 mm F/2.8 lens on a sturdy tripod, 30 seconds and ISO, varying between 1600 and 2000.