11/05/2026
The Spring Milky Way from North Wales đ
The Milky Way during springtime from the UK isnât quite at its best, or most convenient for viewing.
In fact, itâs a bit awkward.
If you want to catch the brighter parts of the Galaxy at this time of year, you have to be willing to do battle with tired eyes, late nights and early mornings.
But if youâre dedicated enough, part of the Milky Way core and the rich star cloud regions through Scutum, Aquila and Cygnus do dramatically rise in the south east during the early morning hours đ
And itâs absolutely worth the effort under dark skies.
But the window is closing.
As we move through mid to late May, true astronomical darkness starts to slip away from us here in the UK.
The nights donât get properly dark for long, and eventually around midsummer weâre left with only a lingering twilight glow rather than real darkness.
Fantastic for evening walks.
Not so fantastic if youâre trying to photograph faint star clouds in a diminishing window.
Over the bank holiday I camped in one of my favourite places, Wales đ´ó §ó ˘ó ˇó Źó łó ż
Or more specifically, North Wales.
Or even more specifically, a campsite on the edge of Llynnau Mymbyr.
Llynnau Mymbyr is actually two lakes separated by a narrow channel, lying between Capel Curig and Yr Wyddfa and better known to many as Mount Snowdon.
Itâs one of those places where the landscape already feels dramatic in daylight.
Mountains, water, changing light, trees, open sky.
But at night when the stars start appearing above the black outline of the peaks, it becomes something else entirely.
At around 11.30 pm I exited my tent, wandered down to the waterâs edge and set up my camera.
Fold out chair deployed, binoculars at the ready.
The plan was simple enough.
Capture the faint Milky Way rising over the trees, including the rich star cloud regions and part of the Milky Way core if I could tease it out.
Simple on paper.
But I knew my old nemesis was lurking nearby.
The nearly full Moon.
Yes, Old Crater Face himself was hiding just below the horizon waiting to rise and throw a big bright wet blanket over my plans.
So I did what any perfectly normal person would do at around midnight beside a lake in Wales.
I used a mountain as a Moon shield.
.. it sounds far more dramatic than it actually was !
Majestic Moel Siabod stood across the water between me and the Moon, blocking the worst of the glare for a while.
That should keep old crater face in check, I thought.
For now.
This time of year (at the time of writing) from May onwards, is a bit of a race against time.
Real astronomical darkness is slowly being pulled away, arriving later and later each evening, until by midsummer it almost disappears completely for much of the UK.
So when you get a clear night, a dark location and at least a fighting chance against the Moon... you take it.
Back at Llynnau Mymbyr, I did manage to capture this shot of the faint Milky Way over the trees, doing its best while battling against the light of the rising Moon.
And even with Moel Siabod standing guard, the Moonâs influence was strong.
Thatâs the thing with dark skies. You notice everything.
A bright Moon under a light polluted town sky is just⌠a bright Moon.
But under properly dark skies, even before it fully rises its glow begins to change the whole character of the night.
The contrast drops. The faint stars fade back. The Milky Way loses some of its punch.
Itâs beautiful, of course.
But when youâre trying to photograph the Galaxy, the Moon can be a right pain in the eyepiece.
But I'm really pleased with this shot.
The rich Cygnus region is there in the centre, densely packed with star clouds.
You can also see the Great Rift, a huge dark lane of dust snaking its way through the glowing band of the Galaxy.
It looks like a tear in the stars.
But itâs actually vast clouds of interstellar dust blocking the light of millions of distant suns behind it.
Near the right edge of the photo is part of the Milky Way core too, faint but visible.
Not the blazing view we get later in the season, but a quiet early glimpse of whatâs coming.
Further over towards the south west, I also captured the night sky above the lake and mountain.
That view had a different feeling entirely.
Less about the Milky Way itself, and more about the place.
Still water.
Dark mountain shapes.
A sky slowly changing as the Moon began to take control.
Thereâs something special about standing alone beside a lake at night with a camera imaging away.
Listening to the tiny sounds around you and knowing that above those Welsh mountains, our Galaxy is rising.
Even if itâs faint.
Even if the Moon is causing trouble.
I donât really want to wish my life away, but roll on late summer and autumn.
Thatâs when the Milky Way is at its absolute best from the UK.
By then the nights are darker again, the bright central regions of the Galaxy are better placed and the whole band stands almost upright in the sky.
Under dark skies, once your eyes adjust itâs a spectacular sight.
A river of starlight and dark dust lanes stretching over the landscape.
And for astrophotography itâs one of the finest sights we get.
But even in spring, even with the Moon muscling in, even when the timing is awkward thereâs still something magical about catching this early glimpse of the Milky Way from a place like North Wales.
You just have to be willing to lose a bit of sleep for it.
But thatâs usually when the best memories happen.
Keep looking up đ
