by Adrien Mauduit » Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:44 am
Fall milky way, zodiacal lights & Saturn over El Roque, La Palma
Credits: Adrien Mauduit
There is one good and obvious reason why the Observatory has been built at the very top of this dormant volcano: it is situated at 2400m of altitude and benefits from year-round dark and pure skies. Although there is still some light pollution from the El Paso area, and because it also receives humid air from the sea and also dust from the Sahara nearby, the air is of an unprecedented quality and it's very dark up there. You cannot see a thing and even the night sky is illuminating the foreground, which rarely happen because of the expansion of mankind and light pollution. The Observatory is comprised of several telescopes and parabolas including the MAGIC mirrors and the great telescope (GTC: Gran Telescopio Canarias). Although the area is off limits at night, the area is accessible if you are willing to hike around the perimeter (200 m high). I took this pristine shot of the Fall milky way and its disappearing core, which was greeted by a brilliant display of zodiacal light (sunlit interplanetary dust) and Saturn setting as well ('yellow star'). I have rarely taken a shot this 'easy', meaning without that much post-process to reduce noise and increase contrasts, because the air is so pure and the airglow wasn't too strong that night.
Canon 6D modded + Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art, Vixen Polarie, Pure Night filter, 6 x 15'' tracked, ISO 6400, f/2.8
La Palma, Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos, November 17th 2017
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![apod.jpg (9.79 MiB) Viewed 31397 times apod.jpg](./download/file.php?id=32781&t=1&sid=f24cc874d028438fdf250ef7524a93c7)
[b]Fall milky way, zodiacal lights & Saturn over El Roque, La Palma[/b]
Credits: [i]Adrien Mauduit[/i]
There is one good and obvious reason why the Observatory has been built at the very top of this dormant volcano: it is situated at 2400m of altitude and benefits from year-round dark and pure skies. Although there is still some light pollution from the El Paso area, and because it also receives humid air from the sea and also dust from the Sahara nearby, the air is of an unprecedented quality and it's very dark up there. You cannot see a thing and even the night sky is illuminating the foreground, which rarely happen because of the expansion of mankind and light pollution. The Observatory is comprised of several telescopes and parabolas including the MAGIC mirrors and the great telescope (GTC: Gran Telescopio Canarias). Although the area is off limits at night, the area is accessible if you are willing to hike around the perimeter (200 m high). I took this pristine shot of the Fall milky way and its disappearing core, which was greeted by a brilliant display of zodiacal light (sunlit interplanetary dust) and Saturn setting as well ('yellow star'). I have rarely taken a shot this 'easy', meaning without that much post-process to reduce noise and increase contrasts, because the air is so pure and the airglow wasn't too strong that night.
Canon 6D modded + Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art, Vixen Polarie, Pure Night filter, 6 x 15'' tracked, ISO 6400, f/2.8
La Palma, Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos, November 17th 2017