Coalsack and the Southern Cross

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Photographer:

Chiragupreti

Location of Photo:

Elqui Valley, Chile

Date/Time of photo:

07/07/2019, 1:50am

Equipment:

Sony A6000, astromodified and Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G master lens at f/5.6

Description:

I was quite amazed how prominent the Coalsack dark nebula was to the naked eye under the dark skies of the Elqui Valley in Chile. The vibrant colors of the Southern Cross stood in a nice contrast to this dark feature in the night sky. To slightly emphasize the color of the stars and the shape of the famous Southern Cross or Crux, I hand held a diffusion filter in front of the camera lens for 1/3 the total exposure (i.e about the first 12 secs as the shutter opened for a total of 38 seconds). This partial exposure to the filter helped diffuse light from only the brightest stars (such as in the Crux) while preserving the features of the Coalsack.