Courthouse Butte and the Milky Way

Click the pic for a bigger view

A few weeks back I made an overnight run to Sedona Arizona with my buddy Bryan Snider to photograph the Milky Way. It made for a long night but was well worth it.

I published an earlier pano of the Milky Way that showed more of it in view. This shot of the Courthouse Butte we grabbed on our way out of Sedona. Compared to the earlier image you can see how much the Milky Way rotated by the time this image was taken. You don’t see as much of the Milky Way but I liked the way Courthouse Butte and the Milky Way lined up.

As I had mentioned in the earlier post, astrophotography has fascinated me for some time. Getting out and seeing the sky like this is something everyone ought to experience. Living in Phoenix we will never see this many stars which is a shame. After driving two hours I could still see the Phoenix glow in several of my shots. It’s almost scary how much light pollution our cities are generating.

Nonetheless I encourage everyone to get out and go for an overnight vacation far from city life and gaze upon stars. For those who have never done it, you will be shocked at just how many stars there are in the sky. It’s a beautiful sight.