Lloyd W.A. Cosway, a British amateur photographer, took some spectacular photographs of the Milky Way over Dartmoor, an area of moorland in south Devon in England.
According to Mr. Cosway, who has an extensive portfolio of photographs, these wonderful images form part of his collection looking at the beauty and magnificence of our skies.
Mr. Cosway, who according to the Plymouth Herald, has a “passion for landscapes,” took up photography thanks to his father.
Milky Way over Dartmoor National Park. (Image: devonshots.com)
As he lives so close to Darmoor, Mr. Cosway says he finds himself up there all the time.
He pointed his camera towards the sky from the spectacular area of Moorland in order to capture the breathtaking picutres.
Mr. Cosway said:
“These shots was taken with a Nikon D800E, mounted on a tripod with an exposure of around 30 seconds. Any longer than that and the stars will have moved, creating a blur in the picture.”
The Milky Way
The Milky Way is the name of our Galaxy. Our solar system, i.e. the Sun and the planets (including Earth) that orbit it, lies in a quiet part of the Milky Way, approximately half way off from the centre.
Mr. Cosway pointed his camera to the sky and took this stunning picture.
The Milky Way has a giant whirlpool shape that rotates once every 200 million years. It consist of at least 100 billion stars, the planets that orbit them, as well as dust and gas.
Our galaxy is massive – spanning about 100,000 light years from one end to the other.
Mr. Cosway says his father inspired him to take up and love photography. (Image: lloydcosway.com)
It is very difficult for astronomers to see the centre of the Milky Way because our view is blocked by clouds of gas and dust. Scientist say that at the centre there is a giant black hole that swallows anything that gets too close.