Dark Sky Utah

10/04/2026

Two years ago, I captured my first images of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) just before sunrise on October 01, 2024. I could see the comet faintly with my unaided eye, but it showed up easily on the camera LCD screen.

I’m Carly from DarkSkyUtah. Each month, I send out a short night sky digest with photography tips, planning tools, and upcoming celestial events. Comment DIGEST if you’d like the link.

First Image- Canon EOS 6D 1.0 sec at f/5.6 ISO 800 at 300mm on the EF70-300mm f-4-5.6 IS II USM

Second Image- Canon EOS 80D, 1.0 sec, f/ ISO 400 on the Rokinon 135mm lens

Third and Fourth Images- October 12, 2024
Canon EOS 80D, 1.0 sec, f/2.4, ISO 250 on the Rokinon 135mm lens



Second Image- Canon EOS 80D, 1.0 sec, f/ ISO 400 on the Rokinon 135mm lens

Third Images- October 12, 2024
Canon EOS 80D, 1.0 sec, f/2.4, ISO 250 on the Rokinon 135mm lens

Fourth Images- October 12, 2024
Canon EOS 80D, 1.0 sec, f/2.4, ISO 250 on the Rokinon 135mm lens

10/03/2026

Milky Way on the Rocks - This image was a lot more complicated to process than expected, but I like how it turned out.

If you’d like monthly photography tips, Milky Way planning info, and upcoming sky events, comment DIGEST, and I’ll send you the link.

This image is a stacked panoramic blend. The foreground is a panorama of 5 light-painted images merged in Lightroom. The stars are three separate stacked images merged in Photoshop. Each panel is 15 images stacked together in Starry Landscape Stacker. I blended the final foreground and star images in Photoshop.

Stars- Canon 80D, 10 sec at f/ 3.5 ISO 6400, on the Canon EF-S 24mm f-2.8 STM lens
Foreground- Canon 80D, 10 sec at f/ 3.5 ISO 12800, on the Canon EF-S 24mm f-2.8 STM lens

This image is a stacked panoramic blend. The foreground is a panorama of 5 light-painted images merged in Lightroom. The stars are three separate stacked images merged in Photoshop. Each panel is 15 images stacked together in Starry Landscape Stacker. I blended the final foreground and star images in Photoshop.

Stars- Canon 80D, 10 sec at f/ 3.5 ISO 6400, on the Canon EF-S 24mm f-2.8 STM lens
Foreground- Canon 80D, 10 sec at f/ 3.5 ISO 12800, on the Canon EF-S 24mm f-2.8 STM lens

If you’d like monthly photography tips, Milky Way planning info, and upcoming sky events, comment DIGEST, and I’ll send you the link.

09/27/2026

I love this road and the people who have made it feel like it’s taking me to another home.

To make a large print, I revisited this image and improved my edit. You can swipe left to see the original edit. Sometimes I will just tweak an existing edit, but for this image, I decided to start from scratch, since my stacking software could now handle RAW images and not just TIFFs.

I was surprised how differently it turned out from my first attempt. I was able to preserve more of the original color and detail with the new stacking workflow. This was before Adobe Denoise, so I was using ON1 PhotoRaw for noise reduction.

First Image: Ten images are stacked and processed in Starry Landscape Stacker to reduce noise. I then used On1 PhotoRaw 2022’s No Noise filter to reduce noise further. I then finished the processing in Photoshop

Second: Ten images are stacked and processed in Starry Landscape Stacker to reduce noise. I then finished the processing in Lightroom
Images were taken on a Canon 6D, 20 seconds at f /3.5, ISO 5000, on the Rokinon 14mm lens

Ten images are stacked and processed in Starry Landscape Stacker to reduce noise. I then finished the processing in Lightroom
Images were taken on a Canon 6D, 20 seconds at f /3.5, ISO 5000, on the Rokinon 14mm lens

Ten images are stacked and processed in Starry Landscape Stacker to reduce noise. I then used On1 PhotoRaw 2022’s No Noise filter to reduce noise further. I then finished the processing in Photoshop

09/26/2026

The Harvest Moon will rise tonight as the sun sets. Around this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon rises at similar times for several evenings. Historically, the extra evening moonlight helped farmers continue harvesting crops after sunset, which is where the name comes from.

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About the Image: Harvest Moon rising over Mount Timpanogos. - October 2020 had two full moons and a late-season wildfire that caused the first one to have an orange glow as it rose through the smoke.

Canon 80D 1/125 sec at f/8.0 ISO 1600 on the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens

09/24/2026

Here’s a hoodoo thumbs-up for pristine night skies.

Since I planned to track the stars for this shot, I took the foreground picture during blue hour to increase detail and reduce noise. I learned this trick from a tutorial by Derek Sturman.

While checking the PhotoPills app and setting up the shot, someone asked me if I was with a night photography workshop group. I said I wasn’t. We started chatting about night photography. He said he often took blue hour foreground pictures and introduced himself as Derek. I realized who he was and laughed. Then I said, “I know. I’m pretty sure you taught me about it.”

Thank you for the tips and all the inspiration, Derek. Some of the first Milky Way images I ever saw were yours. I may have never even attempted a picture of the Milky Way without your Instagram account to inspire me.

Want to learn more about night photography? Comment DIGEST, and I’ll send you the link to sign up for my free monthly newsletter where I share events happening in the night sky and tips on how to capture them with gear you already own.

This is a composite image
Foreground: Canon 6D 1/250 sec at f /11 ISO 250 at 28 mm EF28-135mm f-3.5-5.6 IS USM
Stars Canon 6D 229 sec at f /3.5 ISO 1250 on the Rokinon 14mm lens

09/23/2026

Struggling to get your Milky Way camera settings right? This free calculator turns your exact gear into a complete starting point. No guessing your exposure.

Struggling to get your Milky Way camera settings right? This free c...

09/22/2026

Antares, the rival of Ares (Greek) or Mars (Latin), shines brightly with a red-orange hue in the constellation Scorpius. Located west of the Milky Way core in the Northern Hemisphere. You can use Antares to find the Milky Way core. The planet Mars and Antares look very similar in the night sky, hence the name Anti-Ares.
 
I’m Carly from DarkSkyUtah. Each month, I send out a short night sky digest with photography tips, planning tools, and upcoming celestial events. Comment DIGEST if you’d like the link.
 
 
Canon 80D 225 s f - 6.3 ISO 1600 on the Canon EF 70-300mm f-4-5.6 IS II USM lens and tracked on the iOptron Sky Tracker Pro

 

 Shutter Speed: 225 sec
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO 1600

Camera: Canon 80D
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f-4-5.6 IS II USM
Focal Length: 300 mm
Tracker: iOptron Sky Tracker Pro

09/20/2026

Can you take a picture of the Milky Way core in a Bortle class 5 sky with a regular kit lens? I had my doubts, but it turns out that yes, you can.

I used a few tricks in this location. I used the bridge to block out some of the direct light from the street lights behind it. It took some moving around and adjusting the tripod, but I found an angle that worked.

If possible, try to avoid bright street lights in your composition. If you can’t, though, try to find something to block it. A tree, a car, another light post, or even a person posing in just the right spot. 

I also stacked the images to reduce noise and increase the brightness of the core.

8 images stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker
Canon 80D 20.0 sec at f/ 4.0 ISO 3200 on the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f-3.5-5.6 IS USM lens

I also stacked the images to reduce noise and increase the brightness of the core.

8 images stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker
Canon 80D 20.0 sec at f/ 4.0 ISO 3200 on the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f-3.5-5.6 IS USM lens

09/16/2026

The Moon and the Pleiades star cluster rose within a degree of each other on September 12, 2025. Capturing stars with the moon at 64% is not an easy task, but I had a little luck and a few tricks up my sleeve.

The first image is a single exposure at 2.5 seconds, which should have over-exposed the moon completely. However, the clouds were just the right consistency to diffuse the Moonlight enough to let some details shine through but not overexpose it. The longer exposure gave the camera enough time to capture more detail in the Pleiades star cluster.

To capture this image, I bracketed my exposures or had the camera take pictures at different shutter speeds as the clouds passed. This increased my chances of getting a usable single image with more star detail.

The second image was taken once the clouds cleared and is a blend, which means I took two pictures at different exposures and blended them in Photoshop using layers. I took one image at the correct exposure for the Moon and the next for the Pleiades cluster. Finding the ideal exposure times for both took some trial and error. I also bracketed each of these shots so I had 3 images of each to choose from. Sometimes you can’t see everything on that little screen, so it’s best to give yourself some options.

The third image is also a blend, but the moon image was taken earlier, while there were clouds in the sky. After creating the second image, I wondered what it would look like with some clouds around the moon. So I imported a moon image with some clouds and blended it with the image of Pleiades. I liked the results and decided to include them.

Which image is your favorite?

September 12, 2025
Image 1: Canon 80D 2.5 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 lens

Image 2: Blended Image
Moon: Canon 80D 1/200 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 lens
Pleides: Canon 80D 0.6 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 lens

Image 3: Blended Image
Moon: Canon 80D 1/6 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 lens
Pleides: Canon 80D 0.6 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 lens

Image 2: Blended Image
Moon: Canon 80D 1/200 seconds f/3.2 ISO 100 on the Rok

09/11/2026

In May of 2024 I had the honor of visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I last visited New York in the summer of 1999 when the World Trade Towers stood. I was nervous about visiting the memorial because I dislike being emotional in public, but I knew I needed to see it and pay my respects to those who lost their lives. While there was sadness, the overwhelming feelings on the site were unity, honor, and hope. 

After spending the morning at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial I visited Lady Liberty and other sites. In the evening I returned to the Memorial to meet my husband. While waiting for him I stood at the edge of the south tower pool and took in the moment. I noticed the One World Tower reflecting in the water and was struck by the scene’s beauty. As I tried to capture it, I thought about all those who lost their lives on that terrible day and those who were left behind to mourn the loss. My silent prayer was that they can find peace and healing in this place and know that millions mourn with them.