Could I ask for some Milky way advice please :)

spjmorris

spjmorris

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Name
Steve
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Hi all

I'm heading to the Kingdom of Fife for the May bank holiday, and figure this is as good a chance I'll get this year of being away from light pollution and attempting a Milky Way shot!

This is something I've never attempted before. I've been spending a bit of time looking at light pollution maps and there's plenty of dark enough places, However checking the Moon phase HERE it's going to be at least a half moon on the nights I'll be there...
Considering this, what do you think my chances are?

Thanks for your time
Steve
 
The moon will affect visibility of the Milky Way but on either of the May Bank Holidays the moon doesn't rise until late in the night (a bit before 4am on 2nd May and about 2:20am on the 30th). The main problem is that probably the best part of the Milky Way, as seen from the UK, (the section through the constellations of Cygnus, Aquila and into Sagittarius) doesn't rise until around 11pm and will then be a fairly shallow angle to the north east/eastern horizon. It is at a much steeper angle towards the southern horizon by around 3:30 - 4:00am at the beginning of the month and around 0:30 - 1:00am at the end, so there is a chance of catching the Milky Way before the moon rises.

If you don't have it, have a look at the free download - Stellarium. It shows the sky from anywhere and can be used to help sort the best locations and times for celestial objects.

Dave
 
I'd say that your chances are very good depending on the weather. If is the bank holiday at the beginning of the month, the half moon on Saturday doesn't rise until 02.44 am. Sunset is roughly 8.40 pm and astrological twilight ends at roughly 10.40pm giving you a dark window of 4hours, plenty of time to get some Milky Way images.
 
Thanks both, yes sorry it's the first BH (29th Apr - 1st May)

ok so looks like I'll have a decent window of opportunity, clear sky permitting!
Downloading Stellarium now :)

Much appreciated.

oh and thanks to the mod for moving this - I wasn't sure where best to put it!
 
spjmorris said:
Hi all

I'm heading to the Kingdom of Fife for the May bank holiday, and figure this is as good a chance I'll get this year of being away from light pollution and attempting a Milky Way shot!

This is something I've never attempted before. I've been spending a bit of time looking at light pollution maps and there's plenty of dark enough places, However checking the Moon phase HERE it's going to be at least a half moon on the nights I'll be there...
Considering this, what do you think my chances are?

Thanks for your time
Steve
Click to expand...


Still good, depending on where it is in the sky. You won't get the best shots, and the longer exposures needed will result in teh sky going bloue, but you'll still get some interesting shots.


I shot this with the moon out. It was behind clouds, but it was a quarter moon.

3.jpg

..and while not showing the milky way very well... this was shot under full moon conditions.

1.jpg
 
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