The Milky Way over the ridge

Utah’s high, dry mountain air makes for some of the darkest skies within easy reach of a major city, and the Milky Way’s core was bright enough to see with the naked eye well before it showed up like this on a sensor. A 20-second exposure pulled out the dust lanes and faint color that no eye can register in real time.

Getting the shot

Wide open at f/2.8 and 20 seconds was close to the limit before star trails start to show at this focal length — any longer and the stars stop being points. ISO 3200 did the rest of the work, with noise reduction cleaning up the shadows afterward.