Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I took pictures of Milky Way stars 25,000 light years from Earth... with a High Street digital camera


The enormity of the Milky Way is shown in these stunning images, captured using only a standard digital camera and tripod, of stars 25,000 light years from Earth.

Photographer Drew Buckley, 25, snapped the galaxy - in which our solar system is located - near to his home in Pembrokeshire, Wales, last year.

One shot shows local landmark the Seaweed Hut illuminated using only a handheld torch with the sprawling Milky Way above.

Starry-eyed: Stars in the Milky Way, photographed from the Pembrokeshire coast, in the night sky behind illuminated local landmark the Seaweed Hut

Starry-eyed: Stars in the Milky Way, photographed from the Pembrokeshire coast, in the night sky behind illuminated local landmark the Seaweed Hut

Another photo, captured last summer at Elegug Stacks, a Welsh stone formation, shows just some of the estimated 200 to 400billion stars in the galaxy.

Drew captured the shots using a long exposure and chose the rugged Pembrokeshire coastline specifically for its lack of light pollution.

He said his decision to go out stargazing came about because it was a clear night in October and so he decided to head out to the coast.

Enlarge Another photo taken by Drew Buckley of faraway stars in our galaxy over the Elegug Stacks limestone rocks

Another photo taken by Drew Buckley of faraway stars in our galaxy over the Elegug Stacks limestone rocks

He said: 'I've only recently got into it, I don't have any background in astronomy and this is just a hobby really.

'It was definitely something I wasn't expecting when I saw how the picture turned out, now I want to photograph more space phenomenon.

'I was out there for only about 20 minutes and the results are quite impressive I would say, the problem is you don't get many clear nights in Wales.

'It's amazing to think just going out of your house at night you can photograph the cosmos in so much detail, more people should do it.'

In the frame: Amateur photographer Drew Buckley and his High Street camera

In the frame: Amateur photographer Drew Buckley and his High Street camera


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