Milky Way Over the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

I have waited over a year for the conditions to be right and on Wednesday morning, May 15th, 2019 “all the stars aligned” and I was able to get this image. I had to wait for the 84% Moon to get below 20 degree in the west and the Milky Way to rise and then I had about an hour window for imaging. I only used 30 minutes, starting shooting at 3:20 am and finishing up at 3:50 am. I had to drive 150 miles (241 km) to get to this spot on the Blue Ridge Mountains (38° 4’ 7” North - 78° 48’ 9” West) but it was worth it.

I used the Modified Canon T7i with the Rokinon 16 mm lens, f/2.4, ISO 800, 30 seconds. I shot 21 images but only stacked the last seven where the sky was the darkest.

I hope you enjoy this image of an early morning spring Milky Way.