Shooting the Milky Way - when and where?

Nod

Nod

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Just wondering if it'll be worth me staying reasonably sober one night in early September - we'll be in South Crete with nothing between us and North Africa to cause light pollution so reasonable shots might be possible. I have a suitable body/lens combination (X-T1 + 10-24 XF, although the D750 and 14mm f/2.8 would be better, it's too heavy!) Not 100% sure which direction to aim, although it should be reasonably obvious on location!
 
In September, you'll need to be looking south/south west after sunset I believe. I've not shot the Milky Way anywhere other than the USA so far but the TPE app has a new night mode which shows the position of the Milky Way and would probably be very handy for you.
 
D'oh! Had forgotten that TPE has a dark mode!

Thanks for the reply, Sarah, much appreciated. Luckily, SW is pointing away from any light sources where I'm planning to shoot.
 
There is an app called stellurium that is superb, because it shows how the MW rises and sets during the night. The galactic core is the bit you really want in the shot so you know what time to be on location. You also want to look at moon phases and wait for true dark to get the best shots. Good luck and look forward to seeing the results.
 
Thanks, Craig. Is it actually stellurium or is that a typo and should be stellarium? Timing could be a problem. An op a few years ago has left me less able to handle late nights than I used to be - midnight is about my limit these days. The moon will be what the moon will be! We're at the town for about a week, 6th to 12th September so will check. On the plus side, there's a bar which throws excellent full moon parties every 28 days or so through the season!!!
 
Nod said:
Thanks, Craig. Is it actually stellurium or is that a typo and should be stellarium? Timing could be a problem. An op a few years ago has left me less able to handle late nights than I used to be - midnight is about my limit these days. The moon will be what the moon will be! We're at the town for about a week, 6th to 12th September so will check. On the plus side, there's a bar which throws excellent full moon parties every 28 days or so through the season!!!
Click to expand...

For me the first priority is a clear night. If the moon is out it doesn't stop me going. Yes. you have to adjust your settings to compensate but I would rather have a go at that than not go.

Stellarium is good but I'm sure that there are other similar programmes.
 
I'm sure there are.

At least with digital you can experiment for free. If the moon's out, I'll shoot that again. The X-T1 and 100-400 + 1.4x telecon is great for moon shots but I'll be using the 10-24 for the Milky Way.
 
A bit of moonlight can help with lighting your foreground, if it's behind you. I've just checked Stellarium though the the moon looks like it'll also be in the south / south-west, which is unfortunate. Your best chances will be on 6th / 7th Sept after the moon has set - at 10.30pm on 6th and 11.15pm on 7th I think.

When using Stellarium, boost the Milky Way brightness setting in "sky and viewing options" so you can see where it is.
 
Hmmm... The night of the 6th may be a problem - it's my rebirthday! (Had a life changing operation that really did change my life.)

I'll be looking out to sea so there won't be much in the way of foreground interest, although a hint of moonlight will pick up the tops of the ripples.
 
sarahhj said:
In September, you'll need to be looking south/south west after sunset I believe. I've not shot the Milky Way anywhere other than the USA so far but the TPE app has a new night mode which shows the position of the Milky Way and would probably be very handy for you.
Click to expand...

Never knew this, any idea how to get the night mode on the app on android?
 
TPE - tap the date at the top of the screen and the first option in the menu displayed is "Mode" - daytime on the left and night time on the right. Just tap to select. I think the Milky Way feature is new - I only notice it a couple of weeks ago. I'll definitely be making use it when I next get the opportunity!

Edited to add - this is on iOS on my iPad - I am not sure if it's the same on Android.
 
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The Milky Way is easy to spot,it's the big band of cloud in the sky when you look up on a clear night!

I know that sounds liek me being flippant, but it really is that easy... giev your eyes 10 mins to adjust to the darkness and simply look up, you'll see a faint band of cloud that goes from the south (west) to the North...

Take a shot on really high iso and it will stand out.
 
South West is good! As the map below shows, I'll be shooting from atop the breakwater/harbour wall at Agia Galini in Southern Crete and while there's some habitation to the SE, there's nowt but a couple of dark islands between there and Libya! We're there for a few nights so I should manage vague sobriety on one of them...

AGMap1.jpg
 
Good luck Nod, looking forward to the results!
 
Don't hold your breath, it's possible that they won't happen!

I'll be keeping my eyes on moon phases and MW timings while we're in the North but doubt I'll bother trying for the MW up there - too much light pollution between us and South as well as the Levka Ori (White Mountains). I'll keep an eye on the ISS timings too. Typically there was an extremely good one a few weeks back while we were there but I was at least 3 sheets to the wind so didn't bother trying for it (any attempt would have involved me running upstairs and back down - unlikely when sober and impossible when pished!!!)
 
I got some good shots back in 2004 on film from deep inside the northern Saharan mountains in Morocco, though the exposure lengths meant that there was no read detail, just star trails and a milky stripe, so I'd like to have another go with a digital camera. I did return to the Atlas in 2007, but the nights were cloudy.
 
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