La Palma: the island of the stars

This film was shot over 11 nights in March on La Palma, Canary Islands.

La Palma is often called ‘Europes’ Hawaii’ as it has all the ingredients for a perfect night sky cocktail; altitude, dry air and a lack of light pollution. These elements when combined make for a stunning night sky. Because of it’s clean air and clear skies many of the worlds top observatories have facilities on top of the island. 

The main goal of this film was to capture the Milky Way rising from the horizon at a low angle across the sky. There are two main factors that affect the position of the Milky Way; latitude and time of year.

Latitude is your distance either North or South from the Earth’s equator. In the Northern Hemisphere the closer you are to the equator the higher the central core of the Milky Way will rise into the sky. La Palma is positioned at 28˚ North, which is a good latitude to photograph the central core of the Milky Way.

Time of year affects the angle in which the Milky Ways appears in the sky. The general consensus is that the Milky Way season starts in March and ends in October. In March the angle in which the Milky Way rises in the Northern Hemisphere is at its’ most acute. As Spring turns into Summer the Milky Ways angle increases tilting until it is upright through the months of June to August, then falls away back on itself slightly through September to November until the core disappears from view through the Winter months.