Marco Wong’s Milky Way

Marco Wong’s Milky Way Welcome to my page dedicated to my Milky Way photography. I am based in the UK and love a dark sky

Sky of May at 50.7° N 🌌📍 Belle Tout Lighthouse, Beachy Head, East Sussex 🇬🇧Headed out to immerse myself in solitude agai...
19/05/2026

Sky of May at 50.7° N 🌌

📍 Belle Tout Lighthouse, Beachy Head, East Sussex 🇬🇧

Headed out to immerse myself in solitude again after a busy April dealing with human activities, two wild nights in a row during a working week. Absolutely destroyed myself with tiredness but you know what, being knackered for a day or two and a bit of red eye is just a small price to pay for a soulful of joy ✨

The northerly wind earlier this week brought frost and crystal clear skies. These were some of the clearest conditions I have seen in this area, you could really make out the Milky Way with the naked eye, even some of the dusty regions. Compared with the Milky Way I saw in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, it really made me appreciate that what we have here is actually not that bad. I am again grateful this is just an hour away from home 🌌

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 28mm 1.4
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

A bit of recognition after 5 years into astrophotography, 2026 has been great so far ✨😍My first feature on ESA - Europea...
06/05/2026

A bit of recognition after 5 years into astrophotography, 2026 has been great so far ✨😍
My first feature on ESA - European Space Agency

I am featured on European Space Agency! 🌌🚀Massive achievement unlocked! ——Hello star chasers! My name is Marco Wong, an ...
06/05/2026

I am featured on European Space Agency! 🌌🚀
Massive achievement unlocked!

——

Hello star chasers! My name is Marco Wong, an astrophotography enthusiast based in southeast England. I could not believe it when I received an invitation to collaborate from . To me this is a huge achievement in my astrophotography journey, and will go on to be an unforgettable day in my life!

I never cared too much about what lies beyond the night sky until a trip to the Bolivian highlands 6 years ago, where I saw with my own eyes the glittering Milky Way for the first time. It was what I would describe as the closest my spirit has ever been to our roots, I also found a sense of clarity. This is how my astrophotography journey began. Beyond technicality, it is more of a philosophical journey in search of my identity.

I have since been a frequent visitor to the nearest dark sky from home, the Seven Sisters Country Park in southeast England (Bortle 4-5). This is where I photographed most of my Milky Way images with my Canon 6D. Situated in some of the busiest parts of Europe, a dark sky is already a rare find. Light pollution has made astrophotography even more challenging, as I always end up spending hours on combating light pollution and colour correction in an attempt to reveal the true colour of the galaxy behind the screen of artificial light. Astrophotography is a steep learning curve that requires creativity and persistence, while beneficial to learn from others, I enjoy studying the colours of my local skies, as the atmosphere is highly dynamic and no two skies are the same. The techniques I use are mainly tracking, stacking and panoramas.

After visiting some of the darkest places on Earth, including the Kyrgyz mountains and Chilean desert, I often reflect on the importance of reconnecting with the universe, and the impact of light pollution on us as human beings. The timelessness of stargazing will strip you down to your essence and remind you that nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things. Here I will finish off with my favourite quote: ‘If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.’

I hope you enjoyed this selection ✨

Rainbow of the night 🌌This panorama was taken back in last week when the Milky Way core became visible in the UK for the...
04/03/2026

Rainbow of the night 🌌

This panorama was taken back in last week when the Milky Way core became visible in the UK for the first time in 2026, just as the winter gloom began to make its way, during a short window between moonset and dawn ✨ The Milky Way was still fairly low, so timing and combating light pollution were a massive challenge as usual. I was lucky to have a long-overdue clear sky, but absolutely gutted when a sneaky cloud decided to park itself right where the core was! 😩

📍 Beachy Head, Sussex 🇬🇧

Social : www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/

Sky: f2.5, 51sec, ISO 1250 x 7 panels
Foreground: f2.8, 120sec, ISO 1600 x 5 panels

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 28mm 1.4
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

Us under the silver river 🌌Finally the long overdue final image from our trip in Kyrgyzstan last August, you have been n...
25/02/2026

Us under the silver river 🌌

Finally the long overdue final image from our trip in Kyrgyzstan last August, you have been nothing but soul-touching ✨

This is a wider panorama shot with a 14mm, as opposed to a similar one posted few months back taken with a 28mm

📍 Son Kul, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Taken at

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 14mm 2.8
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

As the stars fade into sunset 🌌Just managed to catch one last glimpse of the faint Southern Cross before sunrise, then s...
11/02/2026

As the stars fade into sunset 🌌

Just managed to catch one last glimpse of the faint Southern Cross before sunrise, then set off back to the northern world ✨

📍Lake Atitlán, Guatemala 🇬🇹

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 _uk 28mm 1.4 Art
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

Retrospective shot from August 2025 ✨📍Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬Us under Cassiopeia 🌌 Life feels right when, after sunset,...
25/01/2026

Retrospective shot from August 2025 ✨

📍Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Us under Cassiopeia 🌌

Life feels right when, after sunset, the world does not glow with neon signs or cold LED lights, when we are not blinded by the false sense of security created by the overuse of artificial light. Just starlight. Quiet, ancient, and pure. The way it’s always meant to be ✨

Shot at amazing ⛺️

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 14mm 2.8
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

📍Kol-Ulkok, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/Blended / Tracked / Stacked / PanoEXIF:Sky: ISO 1600, f4...
26/11/2025

📍Kol-Ulkok, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/

Blended / Tracked / Stacked / Pano

EXIF:
Sky: ISO 1600, f4.0 240 sec; horizontal panorama; each frame consists of a stack of 5
Foreground: ISO 1600, f2.8 180sec: stack of 3
H-alpha: ISO 5000, f2.0, 100sec x5

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 24-70mm 2.8
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

Perhaps my favourite place in all of Kyrgyzstan, not just for its breathtaking scenery, but because of the family who lives here, tucked away in one of the most remote corners of the country.

The sleepy lake of Kol-Ülkök remains untouched by mass tourism, overshadowed by more famous destinations in the region. But that is exactly what makes it so captivating. On the far end of the lake, where the mountains rise like a protective wall, a few solitary yurts rest in silence, cut off from roads, crowds, and noise. This is also the only place I have visited in the northern hemisphere that is entirely free from light pollution.

As I stood outside in the deep silence, while the world around me slept, being in absolute darkness gave me a sense of security and reassurance, I also found a rare kind of clarity. For a moment, I was able to fully disconnect, to feel like just another organic being under the stars.
The timelessness of this experience strips you down to your essence and reminds you of your place in the universe. Many would call this lifestyle isolated, even deprived, but I am envious. Because true wealth is not measured by what you own, but by how deeply you can feel, and how free your mind can be.

📍Jyrgalan, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/Blended / Tracked / Stacked / PanoEXIF:Sky: ISO 1250, f2...
03/10/2025

📍Jyrgalan, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/

Blended / Tracked / Stacked / Pano

EXIF:
Sky: ISO 1250, f2.2, 100sec; horizontal panorama; each frame consists of a stack of 5
Foreground: ISO 1000, f2.0, 90sec: stack of 3
H-alpha: ISO 5000, f2.0, 100sec x5

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 28mm 1.4
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

While horse trekking through the idyllic former mining town of Jyrgalan, I stumbled upon this perfect astro spot at golden hour, facing south over the valley, where a solitary yurt sat quietly beneath the sky.

After nightfall, I set out on a short but intense hike, climbing over the seemingly manageable hills, soul-wrecking, one after an other. I passed local villagers chilling outside their homes with their post-dinner ci******es, confused and fascinated, watching this tourist casually marching into the darkness without the slightest hesitation, never looking back. The green airglow added some mystical element to the scene.

This is the essence of astrophotography for me, an obsession with nature’s dark side, an entirely different perspective of the world ✨

Us under the nomad stars ✨📍 Son Kul lake, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/Beneath the pristine night...
05/09/2025

Us under the nomad stars ✨

📍 Son Kul lake, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Social: www.instagram.com/wongcheuklun/

Beneath the pristine night skies of Kyrgyzstan, this moment became a quiet highlight of our journey through Central Asia. I had worried over the moon phase and the ever-unpredictable mountain weather, but in the end, everything aligned perfectly and peacefully.

What moved me most was watching Vita’s eyes light up as she saw the Milky Way for the very first time in the northern hemisphere. Above us stretched the billion-year-old Milky Way, below us lay the thousand-year-old Silk Road, a bridge between past and present, written in stars and dust.

Son Kul offers ideal conditions for stargazing - high altitude, dry air, and a sky untouched by light pollution. Yet little did I know the light from nearby yurts could be so bright that it lit up half of the image (do they need to be that bright??) washing out the rich details of Sagittarius. Annoyingly I could not escape it as I was not comfortable to drive into the vast darkness of the grassland, well I stayed put and let the pollution become part of the scene.

Stacked / Tracked / Panorama

📷 6D astro mod
🔭 28mm 1.4
📡 skyguider pro
♦️Astronomik 12nm H-alpha filter

Sky: ISO 1600, f2.2, 180sec; 3 panel panorama, each panel is a stack of 5
Foreground: ISO 2000, f2.0, 120sec; stack of 3
Subject: ISO 6400, f1.4, 10 sec

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