Starry Bells – Colorado

Starry Bells – Colorado

A cloud of 100 billion stars, the central bulge of our Milky Way Galaxy sets beyond the pyramid summits of the Maroon Bells. The Bells, as they are locally known, are photographic icons of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. During the day, crowds of tourists from around the world stroll the shores of Maroon Lake, photographing the striking peaks which scrape the sky at over 14,000 feet. At night, the lake shore and trails are quiet. Illuminated only by starlight, capturing the Bells and setting galactic cloud is a balancing act between exposures short enough to avoid star trails and long enough to get detail in the mountains. For more on how this image was made, look for an upcoming article on combining astro and terrestrial photography.