Galaxy Rises over Flinders Peninsula

This is my first nightscape outing in a long time - atleast three months. Finally, the night skies over Albany cleared and no longer being under lock down due to the Covid issue I went forth into the night with a heavy backpack of camera gear.  Making the most of the opportunity I was out for almost nine hours straight, and went to various locations in the Torndirrup National Park in Western Australia.

Here Flinders Peninsula lies silent under the rising core of the Milkyway. Along the length of the galaxy are dotted a multitude of nebulas, glowing bright red amongst the galaxy's whispy dark edge. Just above the core shines the beautiful multicoloured stars of Scorpio and Ophiuchius constellations, and the large but faint reddish patch just left of the core is commonly called the Kobold nebula.

The bright shining "star" in the image is actually Jupiter, its light slightly masked by the red air glow that came and went in the night. It is still bright enough to reflect off the dark waters.

Flinders Peninsula is situated about 20 minutes drive south of the town of Albany, Western Australia. It is a popular hiking area with a walking trail meandering along the entire length. This photo was taken up on Isthmus Hill which is at the "base" of the peninsula. It was a tough hike carrying all the camera gear.

This stitched image of 28 photos was taken with a modified Canon EOS6D camera through a 50mm f/1.2 lens. Each photo frame was taken immediately after the other, and all camera and lens settings were fixed throughout. A tracking mount was used for the sky frames.

| IMG_1176 | 2020-06-20 | Flinders Peninsula, Western Australia | EOS6D modified | Canon 50mm f1.2 lens | @f/2.2 | IDAS filter | ISO1600 | 60s | 28 x panels | Skywatcher StarAdventurer mount |