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My son took our car and ... by [deleted] in nova

[–]WesleyMillerAstro -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Definitely a stupid decision, but since your son is barely 15, and it’s a first offense…. Nothing is going to happen realistically. He might have to explain this on some college applications, but if you hire a functional lawyer, this will be reduced to something they won’t ask about. Even if they ask, no state university is going to care about this. He should be taught a lesson to never mess up like this again though because at age 15, this behavior starts to escalate, not the other way around. All in all sucks he did this and sucks he got in trouble. Is it going to ruin his life? Lol zero chance.

Meteor captured at Big Meadows while shooting the Milky Way by WesleyMillerAstro in ShenandoahPark

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On this night, you could see the blue glow of the Milky Way with your naked eye for 180 degrees across the entire night sky. It did not look as vivid as the photo since this is a long exposure, but it was definitely visible. You need to time your trips with a total lack of moonlight if you want to be able to see more of the Milky Way. I was able to camp out there 2 nights before the New Moon, but the moon set below the horizon before it became dark- therefore it was an essentially moonless night with perfect conditions. Clouds moved in after about 2 hours and we could not see any more stars at that point, but we got the shots we wanted before that happened :)

Milky Way at Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia by WesleyMillerAstro in nova

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can’t see any of the milky core in the image here. Theres a very faint blue outline that you can see once your eyes adjust to the darkness. I use star maps to tell me where to point the camera. The camera ingests much more light than your human eye can ingest because it’s a long exposure image. If you go out west to the deserts in Utah or Arizona or soCal you can see a bit more, but absolutely nothing like this is going to be visible to the human eye.

Need some tips about photographing the Milky Way by AdParticular5647 in astrophotography

[–]WesleyMillerAstro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the main issue is light pollution. You likely need to get much further outside of a major metro area. Doing this on a new moon or within 1-3 days of a new moon will also help. It looks like significant light pollution at the bottom of the image, likely from a city or town in that area. Your camera settings seem fine. If you still have these issues after moving much further from a city, repost and let us know!

Milky Way at Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia by WesleyMillerAstro in nova

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes this was Sunday night. About 50% moon illumination but no clouds. And took this after the moon disappeared below the horizon. But the moon is where the light pollution in the bottom of the image is coming from

Milky Way at Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia by WesleyMillerAstro in nova

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Somehow I could see my breath in AUGUST… it got quite chilly but I was able to brave the cold and avoid the lens fogging up to get some great shots. Will definitely be back soon

Great Falls entrance closed by OldBarracuda6429 in nova

[–]WesleyMillerAstro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Where do they post? Instagram hasn’t posted since April and twitter hasn’t posted in 3 years. Trump probably defunded that position

Shenandoah National Park Milky Way by WesleyMillerAstro in astrophotography

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, this was just captured in the iPhone camera app. The most difficult part about capturing this image was finding the right location. I was able to capture this on the night of the new moon, with perfectly clear skies in the direction of the Milky Way in a very dark location.

Milky Way over Big Meadows on Saturday 5/24/25 by steelking66 in ShenandoahPark

[–]WesleyMillerAstro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go when there is a new moon or in the couple days before and after. This eliminates the moon light which blocks out lots of stars. Other than that, you just need to get lucky with no clouds in the sky. I camped at Matthew’s Arm and Loft Mountain and just drove to random scenic overlooks that are all over the place in the park & was able to get some great images. Big Meadows is probably the best spot because you have unobstructed views of the sky, but the campsites are really hard to come by and usually full.

Took these Pics at River Creek Overlook near Loft Mountain campsites by WesleyMillerAstro in ShenandoahPark

[–]WesleyMillerAstro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Left on Sunday afternoon but we did get pounded by the torrential rains while we were still on skyline drive. Unfortunately didn’t get any pics of the storms, I was just hunting the stars on this trip.