Capturing Milky Way galaxy images

By Ahmad Syabil Sultan Noordin Ahmad

KUCHING, May 11 -- Milky Way image ‘hunters’ are willing to fight off their sleepiness, to have the opportunity to capture the best photographs of the galaxy.

That is what an independent photographer from Kampung Nombor 6 here did in anticipation of the most beautiful moment of the dim light streak, which consists of millions of stars, nebulae and meteors stretching out in the night sky.

Mohamad Nahari Nahar, 32, who first became interested in capturing the galaxy images in 2016, said that he started with zero knowledge about the Milky Way.

“I then decided to join the Milky Way image hunting session organised by the Sabah Stargazers association, to help me better understand about the surreal natural phenomenon.

“When it comes to Milky Way photography, patience is the key. Sometimes, you have to wait up until dawn to get the best picture of the Milky Way,” he told Bernama.

The Milky Way which is visible from earth looks like a flat disk of stars that swirl around with a bulge in the centre.

Mohamad Nahari said nowadays, the search for Milky Way images is getting easier with the existence of various applications that can be easily accessed.

“Through the application, I can properly plan for a suitable time to look for images of the Milky Way. In Sarawak, the best locations to observe it are in Telok Melano, Sematan and Bako in Kuching,” he said.

According to him, in order to get the best images of the Milky Way, it is important to shoot in areas with ‘zero light’ or have very little light pollution.

“In terms of equipment, if you are a newbie, having equipment such as DSLR cameras and basic lenses with an estimated cost of RM5,000 would suffice,” he said.

-- BERNAMA