Posted on July 25, 2012 by in Astrophotography, Photography

Milky Way Galaxy over the Domes of the Bungle Bungles

You know the skies are dark when you can see the Milky Way overhead, even when there’s a more than half-moon shining brightly high in the west sky. And that’s what it was like at the Bungle Bungles.

This image is an 8 frame panorama, taken on Piccaninny Creek bed with my Canon 5D Mk II and Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens, while the Canon 40D was taking a star trails image.

Arching Milky Way over the Bungle Bungles

Arching Milky Way over the Bungle Bungles. Buy this Print.

Buy this print. Or get the Wallpaper.

Seeing the arching milky way over the domes of the Bungle Bungles reminds me of those fantastic two nights in Purnululu National Park – a stunning array of domes, cliffs, gorges, bushland and dark dark skies.

Each frame was a 30s exposure, f/2.8 ISO3200. Panorama created using Auto Pano Pro, and the image was processed in Photoshop CS5.

I was very excited to see this image chosen as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for September 11th, 2012. What a thrill!

I have since written a detailed guide on how I captured and processed the image, How To: Capturing and Processing the Arching Milky Way over the Bungle Bungles.

You can see the rest of my pics from the Kimberley Tour by browsing the Kimberley tag posts.

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About Mike Salway

Mike Salway lives on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia and loves amateur astronomy, photography and karate. He co-founded the amateur astronomy website, IceInSpace, has a family with a wife and 3 kids, and is a 1st Dan Black Belt in Karate. In real life, Mike is a Product Manager for a software company.
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39 Responses to “Milky Way Galaxy over the Domes of the Bungle Bungles”

  1. Suman | July 26, 2012 at 7:00 pm #

    Great shot mike!! Love the colors

    Reply
  2. Ian Mills | July 30, 2012 at 8:56 pm #

    Hi Mike, I’d love to purchase a large print of this … can you write to me please when it may be available?
    Cheers
    Ian
    vk2him at gmail dot com

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | July 30, 2012 at 9:38 pm #

      Hi Ian

      Thanks so much – I’ll get in touch via email. I can arrange prints of it now if you’re keen – it will be a few weeks before I have it ready to order here on my website.

      Did you want it just the print, or framed too?
      What print size were you after?

      I use createdforlife.com – they’re the same printers/framers that Ken Duncan uses. The quality is brilliant.

      Cheers

      Reply
      • Ian Mills | July 30, 2012 at 9:43 pm #

        Thanks Mike … I think I would want a mounted canvas, at least 1m long … what would the prices be please? I’m at Kellyville … cheers Ian

        Reply
        • Mike Salway | July 31, 2012 at 10:55 am #

          Hi Ian.
          Have sent you an email.
          Cheers

          Reply
  3. Wayne Harrison | August 1, 2012 at 1:54 am #

    Some fabulous shots Mike, but this is my favourite.

    I have what is probably a stupid question to ask, so I’ll do that via a more private email.

    Thanks for sharing these.

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | August 1, 2012 at 7:23 am #

      Thanks Wayne, appreciate you taking the time to comment.

      Reply
  4. Bill Lee | August 2, 2012 at 6:55 am #

    I found out about this image via the Universe Today daily email, and think it is remarkable!

    I have just started doing panoramas and like it a lot. I have yet to try it at night; seeing this photo has gotten me excited about doing so!

    Thanks! ..Bill..
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | August 4, 2012 at 12:03 pm #

      Hi Bill
      Thanks so much for your feedback and for taking the time to come and comment.

      Good luck with your panoramas!

      Reply
  5. Colin ( Flash ) | August 6, 2012 at 8:53 pm #

    That is outstanding … what a photo …. imagine seeing that every night.

    Mike … you get to see things that most of us would dream of.

    Well Done…!!

    Reply
  6. amin | September 11, 2012 at 4:18 pm #

    I am also an amateur astronomer … This is great … What is greatness in creation … Where are we in the universe?

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | September 14, 2012 at 8:55 am #

      Hi Amin, thanks so much for your comment!

      Reply
  7. Sriram | September 12, 2012 at 2:15 am #

    Hi Mike,

    Wow, this is the very best of milky way from our ground ever captured. Must have been beautiful seeing it all with your eyes.

    A stupid question out of curiosity –

    The domes are seen lit in front of a band of the milky way. However, I suppose you can find such brilliance of stars only under pitch dark new moon sky. How did you manage to get stars lit up so well during dawn/morning (or the domes lit up in the darkness of night) ? This may be a stupid question for many – I am amateur and still learning.

    Whatever be your answer, this is the best land and sky combination I’ve ever seen !! Wow, wow ….
    great work.

    Cheers
    Sriram

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | September 14, 2012 at 9:37 am #

      Hi Sriram,
      Thanks so much for your comment and feedback.

      It was about 10pm at night, so the stars were nice and bright – but the domes were lit up by a waxing crescent Moon high in the West – so the lighting was perfect to light up the foreground while still having a dark enough sky to see the Milky Way.

      Thanks again!

      Reply
  8. David | September 14, 2012 at 2:40 am #

    Lovely pic, Mike! Any change of a wallpaper-sized version? I have a 1920×1200 monitor that would look great with your image on it.
    Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | September 14, 2012 at 8:53 am #

      Hi David! Thanks for your comment. I’ll work on a 1920×1200 version – no problems. Let me get back to you!

      Reply
  9. Wayne Harrison | September 14, 2012 at 11:15 am #

    Hi Mike – can you broadcast a message when you have the wallpaper version up please – that’ll do me too !!

    cheers
    Wayne

    Reply
  10. Patrick | September 17, 2012 at 12:16 am #

    Wow!

    How much to use it as my cover photo on my facebook page?

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | September 17, 2012 at 8:26 am #

      Hi Patrick
      Please feel free to use it as the cover photo – just please remember to give credit and link to my website.
      Cheers

      Reply
  11. John H | September 17, 2012 at 8:23 am #

    Please give us a shout when the wallpaper come up :)

    Reply
  12. Turquezza | September 18, 2012 at 8:02 am #

    Sou brasileira. Fiquei na Austrália por um mes de férias.
    Amo este país e um dia, quem sabe, morarei aí.
    Eu amo o Outback (Ayers Rock) até já pintei em tela.
    Parabéns pelas fotos.

    Reply
    • Mike Salway | September 18, 2012 at 8:07 am #

      Thanks very much for your comment. Google Translate helped me find out what you wrote :)
      I haven’t been to Ayers Rock yet but it’s definitely on my must-do list!
      All the best to you.

      Reply

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