The Way Abides

I've always wanted to shoot at Thor's Well. I knew last night would be low tide, so no opportunity for shooting the well at night itself, but I could at least learn the area and chase down some Milky Way shots. Everyone knows that New Moon is the best time for those shots, right? Personally, I don't mind a quarter moon if it doesn't rise until 22:30 because that gives me loads of time for dark sky shots. See the pictures for descriptions of each.

I thought it would be closer to the ocean, but the Milky Way still presented an amazing profile next to the mountain. A few scattered clouds to the right and a green light on a boat in the distance begins to emerge. That was a first photo, not the one shown here.

A friend and his son joined me, and were kind enough to help me carry the equipment to a new spot. This was closer to the highway (the concrete structure is the edge of a parking lot) but a small viewing box gave me enough space to set this up. Ironically, the beautiful Rho Ophiuchi complex came in crisp and clear (the group of colorful stars trailing streamers of dust just in front of the Milky Way) came in clearer than most of my attempts to image it directly.

That is what I'm sharing!

Sony A7R IV
20mm Rokinon manual focus f/2
ZWO AM5 mount

AstroPixel Processor and Pix Insight