I shot this picture in the eastern part of Morocco, near the Algerian border, during an astrophotography trip. The sky there was exceptionally pure, with absolutely no light pollution (Bortle 1).
If you’re interested, you can find more of my work on Instagram.
This image was taken during the first night of the trip. We reached this desert by 4x4, driving off-road through remote landscapes, and found the perfect place to set up camp at the base of a dune. The scenery was truly breathtaking.
Arriving on site felt almost unreal. There was nobody around, just the desert stretching endlessly around us. The spot was slightly elevated, offering a panoramic view over the desert valley. In the distance, we could see a man traveling with a camel caravan.
In this picture, you can see the Orion constellation, also called Amanar by Amazigh people (local communities). It is written as ⴰⵎⴰⵏⴰⵔ.
The panorama was captured using a 50mm lens and is composed of 16 tiles for the sky and 9 for the foreground.
Each tile of the sky consists of a stack of two pictures with 30 second exposures, plus another 30 second exposure using a glow filter. I also captured additional frames with an Ha filter to bring out the red nebulae. I used an equatorial mount to be able to track the sky with the 50mm lens without star trails.
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As a reminder, the sky looks very different to the naked eye than it does in long-exposure astrophotography. With unaided vision, you can easily recognize the shape of Orion and notice a few of the brightest nebula regions as very faint, diffuse glows, but you cannot see the deep reds or the intricate structures shown here.
The prominent red emission visible in this image comes from H-alpha light, captured through long exposures. This wavelength is emitted by ionized hydrogen in nebulae and is largely invisible to the human eye at night. Camera sensors, however, are far more sensitive and can accumulate this faint light over time, revealing the true extent of these vast hydrogen clouds.
Even without these vivid colors, standing under a Bortle 1 sky remains an unforgettable experience, with the Milky Way arching overhead and the constellations shining with exceptional clarity.
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The Bortle Scale is a nine-level system used to measure light pollution and the quality of the night sky at a given location. It ranges from Class 1, representing the darkest skies available on Earth, where the Milky Way appears highly detailed and the zodiacal light is visible, to Class 9, which corresponds to inner-city skies where only the brightest stars and planets can be seen.
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📷
Canon 6D (astro-modded) – Skywatcher Star Adventurer – Sigma ART 50mm
Sky settings: ISO 2500 – f/1.8 – 30s
Foreground settings: ISO 4000 – f/4 – 80s
I shot this picture in the eastern part of Morocco, near the Algerian border, during an astrophotography trip. The sky there was exceptionally pure, with absolutely no light pollution (Bortle 1).
If you’re interested, you can find more of my work on Instagram.
This image was taken during the first night of the trip. We reached this desert by 4x4, driving off-road through remote landscapes, and found the perfect place to set up camp at the base of a dune. The scenery was truly breathtaking.
Arriving on site felt almost unreal. There was nobody around, just the desert stretching endlessly around us. The spot was slightly elevated, offering a panoramic view over the desert valley. In the distance, we could see a man traveling with a camel caravan.
In this picture, you can see the Orion constellation, also called Amanar by Amazigh people (local communities). It is written as ⴰⵎⴰⵏⴰⵔ.
The panorama was captured using a 50mm lens and is composed of 16 tiles for the sky and 9 for the foreground.
Each tile of the sky consists of a stack of two pictures with 30 second exposures, plus another 30 second exposure using a glow filter. I also captured additional frames with an Ha filter to bring out the red nebulae. I used an equatorial mount to be able to track the sky with the 50mm lens without star trails.
----
As a reminder, the sky looks very different to the naked eye than it does in long-exposure astrophotography. With unaided vision, you can easily recognize the shape of Orion and notice a few of the brightest nebula regions as very faint, diffuse glows, but you cannot see the deep reds or the intricate structures shown here.
The prominent red emission visible in this image comes from H-alpha light, captured through long exposures. This wavelength is emitted by ionized hydrogen in nebulae and is largely invisible to the human eye at night. Camera sensors, however, are far more sensitive and can accumulate this faint light over time, revealing the true extent of these vast hydrogen clouds.
Even without these vivid colors, standing under a Bortle 1 sky remains an unforgettable experience, with the Milky Way arching overhead and the constellations shining with exceptional clarity.
----
The Bortle Scale is a nine-level system used to measure light pollution and the quality of the night sky at a given location. It ranges from Class 1, representing the darkest skies available on Earth, where the Milky Way appears highly detailed and the zodiacal light is visible, to Class 9, which corresponds to inner-city skies where only the brightest stars and planets can be seen.
----
📷
Canon 6D (astro-modded) – Skywatcher Star Adventurer – Sigma ART 50mm
Sky settings: ISO 2500 – f/1.8 – 30s
Foreground settings: ISO 4000 – f/4 – 80s
Incredible!
Thanks 😊
I'm so hungry rn my brain saw "Onion ring above the Sahara" for a split second...I better go make lunch.
Black holes are just spicy space onion rings
Hahah I like this title too 😅
I had always wondered how the stars came out so glowy! Thanks you for also posting your guide! I need to definitely get a star tracker soon!
Also such an amazing shot, literally out of this world!
The pleasure is mine! Thanks 😊
I wonder what stars Orion is looking at over there /s