Deepscape

The Carina Nebula shines brigth up, while the Southern Pleiades timidly appear above the gentle slopes of Mauna Loa, the most massive mountain on Earth. 2 panes mosaic, no land-sky composite. The Carina Nebula never rises above the horizon in most of the Northern Hemisphere! Even from the Big Island of Hawai’i that sits only 19.8 degrees above the equator, the highest this nebula ever gets is 10.3 degrees above the horizon. Look at the horizon and picture that for a moment. That’s the highest point, which means you have to start shooting lower, since you need at least a couple of hours of exposure to get enough signal. The Southern Pleiades are even more challenging, barely getting up 5 degrees above the horizon. So low in fact, that a part of the mountain got in the way! Not a problem. I think the image tells a lot more with it.