work well with the galactic center at an
azimuth of 167 degrees or greater. On
June 15, for example, the galactic center
reaches an azimuth of 167 degrees and
altitude of 20 degrees at 12:18 a.m. This
is the earliest time of year, and the ear-
liest time of night, to shoot a well-com-
posed single-camera-position image
that includes a reflection. As the sea-
son progresses, you can make the same
shot earlier in the evening. For example,
Sun Surveyor shows that the galactic
center will be in the same position at
10:18 p.m. on July 11. Stitched panora-
mas such as Milky Way over Bear Lake
with the galactic center at an azimuth of
206 degrees and altitude of 16 degrees
are feasible at some time during the night
from June 25 until the end of the Milky
Way season.
Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park bills
itself as one of the darkest locations on
the planet. It’s a great place to shoot
the Milky Way at any time during the
season, but it’s particularly appealing in
April, May and June, the best months for
shooting the complete arch of the Milky
Way. To make my image Milky Way
Panorama over Goblin Valley, I first used
Sun Surveyor to determine the azimuth
of the galactic center when its altitude
reached 10 degrees on April 2, my shoot-
ing date—140 degrees at 3:20 a.m. Sun
Surveyor also told me that the altitude of
the highest point of the Milky Way arch
would be 26 degrees, with an azimuth
of 71 degrees. That put the left-hand end
of the Milky Way arch at an azimuth ofMilky Way panorama at Goblin
Valley State Park, Utah. Shot on
April 2, 2017, at 4:26 a.m., when
the azimuth of the galactic center
was 153 degrees and the altitude
was 17 degrees. The azimuth of
the highest point on the Milky Way
arch was 86 degrees; its altitude
was 38 degrees.outdoorphotographer.com May 2019 63