Milky Way Shines Above Field in Dazzling Skywatcher Photo

Milky Way and Bales of Hay
Astrophotographer A. Garrett Evans sent in a panoramic image of the Milky Way over a field in central New Hampshire, on the morning of June 23, 2014. (Image credit: A. Garrett Evans)

The Milky Way sparkles in the night sky above a field strewn with hay bales in a stunning new photo.

Astrophotographer A. Garrett Evans of New Hampshire reports that he made this 15-shot panoramic image on the morning of June 23, 2014, while accompanying a fellow photographer unfamiliar with the area. They ended up in the back of this field in Sutton, New Hampshire, where Evans was captivated by the Milky Way galaxy arching overhead and the trees silhouetted against the sky. He found the only way to capture this scenario visually was with a panoramic image.

"The old saying goes, 'Make hay while the sun shines,'" Evans wrote in an email to Space.com. "This is my version of making hay: a beautiful Milky Way with nice airglow, visible Andromeda Galaxy,  and a satellite streaking through the sky."

Evans took all shots with a Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm @16mm, ISO 6400, f/2.8, 30 seconds, stitched in PTGui, and processed through Lightroom and Photoshop.

"The mosquitoes were really hungry and we fed them well, but this shot was worth it to me," he added.

For more of Evans' work, visit: https://www.facebook.com/AGEvansPhotography or @AGEvansPhoto on Twitter.

Editor's Note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

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Tom Chao
Tom Chao has contributed to SPACE.com as a producer and writer since 2000. As a writer and editor, he has worked for the Voyager Company, Time Inc. New Media, HarperCollins and Worth Publishers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Tom on Google+.