about Feb. 15 to Oct. 15—about a month
longer, total, than in Colorado. In Fair-
banks, Alaska, the galactic center never
rises. That doesn’t mean you can’t shoot
the Milky Way in Fairbanks, but it does
mean you can’t shoot the most photo-
genic part of it. Rather than trying to
memorize all these times, dates and azi-
muths, refer to the iOS version of the
Photographer’s Ephemeris or Sun Sur-
veyor (iOS or Android) for detailed data
on the position of the galactic center.
So far I’ve been discussing single-cam-
era-position shots of the Milky Way in
which the galactic center is the main
celestial subject. The geometry is dif-
ferent if you want to shoot the full arc
of the Milky Way as it stretches from
horizon to horizon. For these shots, you’ll
want to be looking east during the new
moon periods in April, May and June. In
those months, at the right time of night,
the highest point of the Milky Way arch
will be about 30 to 45 degrees above the
horizon and roughly east when the galac-
tic center is 10 degrees or more above
the horizon. In July and later, the top of
the Milky Way arch is so high above the
horizon by the time it gets dark enough
to see it that it becomes difficult to shoot.
Sun Surveyor offers data on the direction
and altitude of the highest point of the
arch, making it invaluable in planning
that kind of shot. The full Milky Way
arch is an immense subject in an angular
sense, with the left limb of the arch inter-
secting the horizon to the north and the
right limb intersecting the horizon to thesouth-southeast. To capture the full arc,
you’ll need to shoot a stitched panorama.
Here are two examples of how you can
put this information to work. I’ve chosen
locations that are close to the road and
offer a long window of opportunity for
making an excellent image.
The view of Longs Peak, Pagoda
Mountain and Chiefs Head Peak from
Bear Lake is one of the scenic climaxes
in Rocky Mountain National Park. The
bearing of Longs Peak from Bear Lake is
158 degrees. You’ll want to shoot when
the galactic center is to the right of Longs
Peak so that the Milky Way arcs up and
over the peak. If you want a reflection,
you’ll also need to wait until the lake
thaws, which usually occurs by early
June. Single-camera-position images62 Outdoor Photographer outdoorphotographer.com