Stargazing time!

Night sky was clear as never before, so I jumped in the car and drove to Lake Ellesmere (36 km out of town) and parked the car somewhere off the main road.

Alone in the darkness, using lights as little as possible to keep the eyes wide open, you automatically listen for every small sound, as if there could be dangerous animals nearby (even though spiders and snakes don't make sound anyway). The click of the camera, a passing car, my own footsteps. Then out of a sudden, some intense ticking came to my ears, which I couldn't understand. At such times you have to stay pretty cool, and not run or drive away, possibly ruining some long exposure night shot.

From this lonesome dark place, the Milky Way could easily be seen with the naked eye. No binoculars or photography was required, just a very dark sky with no moon or city lights visible. 12mm, f/2.8, 30 sec, ISO3200.

The bright star in the upper-right corner is Alpha Centauri. In the bottom (just left of the center) the Crux constellation can be recognized. Can you spot Coalsack Nebula as well? 50mm, f/2, 20 sec, ISO800.

The Large Magellanic Cloud. 50mm, f/1.8, 20 sec, ISO3200. Both this LMC and the Crux/Alpha Centauri picture, are small sections from the Milky Way picture.

And the strangle tickling sound that I heard? Well, it was a bag of M&Ms which I put on the roof of my car, that tipped over. I leave the rest to your own imagination ;)