Rondom Night Sky Shots Collection.

When I saw the theme of the new photography contest organized by @qurator, I immediately knew it was something I wanted to take part in – Night Sky. As a lover of photographing the star-filled night sky, with the Milky Way and sometimes even the aurora borealis, I’m more than happy to accept this challenge.

Most of my best night shots have already been published here, while some are still waiting for post-processing — which, unfortunately, I still haven’t found the time for. However, I do have a few strong images left in my archives that I can finally share. Here they are:

July 2025 – It was supposed to be the aurora, but I ended up with “just” the Milky Way.

In July, I headed out into the field with one specific goal in mind: the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) and a strong chance of auroral activity. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out this time due to the unfavorable orientation of the Bz component, which remained positive for most of the event (while auroras require negative values).

Still, I made the most of that night and the exceptionally dark location by photographing the Milky Way — which more than compensated for the unsuccessful aurora hunt. In the end, I captured one of the best images of our galaxy in my entire “career.”

April 2025 – The Milky Way

April last year was particularly active for me — and for astrophotographers in Poland and beyond. At the turn of April and May, the Milky Way season begins. During these months, late at night, the galactic center rises into a perfect position in the sky for photography.

That season was the first one I fully committed to. However, it was also my beginning with more advanced Milky Way photography, so the results are not yet at the level I ultimately aim for. Still, it was a major step forward — I learned a great deal, and I feel much better prepared for this year’s season. It’s just around the corner, and I can’t wait.

lease forgive the rather poor foreground. It is the result of stacking 15 exposures to reduce noise. I should have taken a separate exposure of the foreground and blended the sky with the landscape in post-processing, but… these were experiments — and it turned out the way it turned out. That said, the galactic center itself came out very nicely.

April 2025 – Aurora Borealis, Saharan Dust and Cirrus Clouds

April was also an excellent month for aurora enthusiasts. As a result of two powerful solar plasma eruptions, one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of that year occurred, reaching the G4 level.

Unfortunately, the peak intensity took place just before nightfall, which meant it wasn’t visible from Poland. The aurora that appeared later was still very impressive, but its display coincided with an influx of Saharan dust. The particles suspended in the atmosphere significantly muted and diffused the auroral light.

As if that weren’t enough, thin Cirrus clouds also spread across the sky. Instead of photographing a clear and vivid aurora, I ended up capturing a unique cocktail of atmospheric phenomena — a blend of auroral light, Saharan dust, and high, wispy clouds.

This post in my entry to @qurator Photo Quest.

That’s all for today. See you soon!