The above photograph was taken at 22:10 BST on the 10th September 2007 from a garden beside the Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The moonless conditions and unpolluted dark sky was ideal for observing the Milky Way. This 57s image was taken with an unguided Fuji S2 Pro camera set at ISO 1600 and f/2.8. The Milky Way runs through the constellations of Aquila, Ophiuchus and Scutum. The brighthtest star is α Aquilae (Altair).

It is amazing how clearly the dark lane in the Milky Way is seen here. It is caused by dust and gas obscuring the brighter haze of stars behind. The bright patch of light just above the trees is the region around Scutum and this is close to the direction in which the centre of our Galaxy lies.

Four nights later on the 14th September at 22:56 BST I took this image looking virtually straight up at the Zenith. This was again an unguided 60s image at ISO1600, f/2.8. There are so many stars here it is difficult to make out the constellations, but Cygnus is flying down towards the bottom right-hand corner of the picture and in the opposite direction the Milky Way runs up towards the constellations of Lacerta and Cepheus. Again the dark obscuring lanes are clearly visible.

Finally, on the same night at 23:07 BST I took this 58s exposure (again ISO 1600, F/2.8) looking towards the north east and it shows the continuation of the Milky Way through the constellations of Cassiopeia and Perseus. The familar "W" shape of Cassiopeia can be seen in the upper centre of the photograph. The Milky Way seems much broader here and there is a strong demarcation line to the left of the image. A couple of faint objects also show up in this photograph; the double star cluster h & χ Persei (NGC869 and NGC884) below the W of Cassiopeia and the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, to the far right of the picture.