Milky Way Over Lake Mary
Click on the pic for a bigger view
Last weekend we traveled north where I had a chance to capture the Milky Way over Lake Mary. My daughter had a swim meet in Flagstaff Arizona which has very low light emissions. A perfect place to photograph the Milky Way.
The Milky Way Over Lake Mary Lights the Sky
I love getting outdoors at night with my camera. Photographing the Milky Way is such a treat for me. Living in the suburbs of Phoenix we have zero chance of ever seeing this celestial sight. As you can see in the image above that orange glow in the lower right corner are the lights from Phoenix, 145 miles away.
I’m never ceased to be amazed at the sheer number of stars the sky can hold. It truly boggles my mind. We had a chance to visit the Lowell Observatory during the day. There we had a chance to learn about Pluto which was discovered at Lowell. One of the many things that stuck out was the nearest star is a little over 4 light years away. That means if you traveled at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) it would take 4 years to get there. Mind blown!
Visiting Lowell is certainly worth your time if you are ever staying in Flagstaff. On clear nights they have several telescopes available for viewing the night sky. The night we were there we saw an amazing view of Saturn. The high altitude with its thinner air and low light pollution make for a great viewing experience.
After viewing Saturn I dropped my family back off at the hotel and headed out towards Lake Mary. I was hoping to get closer to the water but I couldn’t find a spot to get off the highway far enough. I settled for a small pullover spot and set up my camera. After a few minutes in the darkness my eyes began to adjust to the darkness and I could make out the faint trail of stars across the sky. I captured several images but this is one of my favorites of the Milky Way over Lake Mary.
Until next time…
Simply a killer of a shot Chris.