Magnificent Panorama Captures Milky Way Glowing Over White Mountains

Milky Way Panoramic Image Over White Mountains

The Milky Way glows over the White Mountains of New Hampshire in this image. Christopher Georgia took this 15-shot panoramic image north of Franconia Notch State Park, N.H. on July 13. He used a Nikon D3s camera, Nikon 14-24mm lens at 15mm, exposure 22 seconds x 15, f/2.8 and ISO 2500, to capture the photo. (Image credit: Christopher Georgia | <a href="http://www.cmgfoto.com/">CMGFoto.com</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CMGFoto?ref=stream">Facebook: CMGFoto </a>)

A veteran astrophotographer’s gut feeling led to a spectacular panoramic image of the Milky Way over the wild White Mountains of New Hampshire.

"On the 13th of July I went out on a whim. The weather wasn't looking too great but I had a feeling that it would be clear north of Franconia Notch State Park," Christopher Georgia wrote SPACE.com via email. Georgia used a Nikon D3s camera, Nikon 14-24mm lens at 15mm, exposure 22 seconds x 15, f/2.8 and ISO 2500, to capture the image.

The 15-shot panoramic photo spans more than 200 degrees of horizon. The ridge feature on the left is Franconia Ridge, which serves as a backbone of the Franconia Mountain Range, located in the White Mountains. Cannon Mountain is pictured to the right of the photo with Echo Lake to the left. Cars along winding I-93 as well as the interstate’s lights caused the overexposed sections seen scattered throughout the image. A bit of the aurora borealis can also be seen to the far left of the photo.

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Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.