"When it comes to astrophotography, it's a blend of being out under the stars with a camera and a whole lot of internally chanting the 'please don’t rain, please don’t rain...' mantra. This, while of course obsessively checking the weather forecast and invoking the Gods of the night sky.
Just two hours before these shots, the sky was laden with white fluffy and occasional dark (yet still fluffy) clouds. Mogwai Dave had Cambrian Mountain Dafydd on speed dial, providing regular updates from the heart of the Elan Valley on any slight changes in the weather. It became a close contest between him and the dogs as to who spent more time staring out the window that day (no post arrived, so Dave might have edged out the dogs).
At 6:30 pm, a plan was set. Dafydd and Dave would rendezvous after dark at Caban Coch to see what the night had in store.
Equipped with bobble hats, waterproofs, camera bags, tripods, and snoods (to fend off the ever-present biting midges), they were ready for action.
The ascent up the hill allowed the clouds to part, unveiling a breathtaking night sky filled with stars, meteorites, the Milky Way, and even the International Space Station.
It was an extraordinary evening that reignited a cosmic wanderlust, almost making us forgive this summer’s impersonation of a very .. very ..damp squib.
As the days shorten and the nights deepen, the universe teases us with more opportunities for starlit magic and a bit of celestial mischief…and we for one just cannot wait .
As Carl Sagan put it, "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff." So, by day, we're snapping portraits, but come nightfall, we're capturing the people and memories of the past and future—all while dodging midges and praying to the weather gods to “please don’t rain.. please don’t rain..”
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