We had exceptional clear skies in Noblesville, IN on May 16 at 4am. I woke up to let the dogs out and it was like 40 degrees (F) with absolutely no wind. Perfectly clear skies. I saw Saturn and Mars blazing in the tail of Scorpius, and my favorite asterism the celestial teapot in Sagittarius.
I tried for a couple Milky Way shots and was surprised I actually could see some nebulosity even from my backyard. Noblesville is NE from downtown Indianapolis, so the light dome from the city is obvious - so seeing ANY part of the Milky Way is pretty cool.
![backyard milky way before and after backyard milky way before and after](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4G__8t3ZIRM_nksYkJh0FvgCipXqdMZ0Ic5LYceS9BWDqfxZx5PWHh3X3Uv9hLNO_9_Zapz25vbzkvCq5BCmWF1J_zrvfG_qt-0udeVSUwrahDU-j9gcjtLx3gW0qTZ_zTCQlW3t6CTo/s400/backyard+milky+way+process+before+and+after.jpg) |
Before (R) and After (L) processing in Adobe Camera RAW - not a lot to work with, but the fact that I caught it from my own backyard is pretty cool. |
![backyard milky way with light pollution backyard milky way with light pollution](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryl751ZJPjqP1jr-LQHZiEgR2iGVVcyfREQSKKNEBQP6DcgaJgyuh_kx0mxt7eA5MoN3ux__wsgq86k296nQAv8Wq_-xaDWjO3mfel6p90ZyQytpPievnmtC0Cz40Xr1WTZEltIHaPT42/s400/horizontal+milky+way+processed+2.jpg) |
Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 800, 18mm, f/3.5, 13 seconds on fixed tripod |
![backyard milky way with light pollution backyard milky way with light pollution](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEz2m1j-_wuu4Ag94_1jFgw5XRwuQ6fhNrjCSOUZJTGMdSMolWmC0XL8P6CRCQL3NnljAtxz1BQYeFx9h2qrFR8RBpf1vHKS9GgI-R81VFw39__49yU1lFjAwXPNurAI1bRgyk_Af-BcpD/s400/horizontal+milky+way+processed.jpg) |
Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 18mm, f/3.5, 10 seconds on fixed tripod |
![backyard milky way with light pollution backyard milky way with light pollution](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbELNdCvvO04ec3q_vB9S4Wo4OpsV9jWHdVA4VKYAHf6Ld-ag9kaZRJNV0FnI9TIqQQn-HqY5Acw5yMc8BUSa2WfoBK7wotoR4obk9QGJTOkp84-zbdnzu83ZNLOMKJ2X16LxIEQRa6Vf/s640/vertical+milky+way+processed.jpg) |
Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 1600, 18mm, f/3.5, 10 seconds on fixed tripod |
As you can see, I didn't have much to work with - as soon as I turn the exposure and highlights up, the light pollution washes out the Milky Way. Still a cool piece of sky, and definitely reminds me of summer. Here is a screenshot from Stellarium showing the position of Saturn, Mars, and the stars in the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius.
![stellarium screenshot tea pot stellarium screenshot tea pot](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx6c3gzfOAueGU7RoDygezWb8ATCDb6YSN-nqNxdZmVtkvCPLG0WGrTA100bMrHRlSkqQmVPFDcQLI39rekg1hcEtkcY_AA3b8DeJBw14LQfe-zYxOQfAd97nPzIB50IZIqz66dA4sDGa/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-05-22+at+5.00.23+PM.png) |
Screenshot from Stellarium showing the southern sky at the time I took the photos on May 16, 2016. |
![teapot asterism teapot asterism](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CJfAqX8bJzz6OKhqtACtzYOZoE9azTuQIIdLH-0FK_H-9bQtKUDxDZzPYcCH_3IFo-C7YjzS1vSRnGTDgh0M-1B_2T-sDPmDhyxDvofIE2r6Kn3pYg_Iw-ODUcqhdiNJtdQK8vYZV3Op/s400/teapot+over+rooftop+stars.jpg) |
Single frame, Canon T5i, ISO 800, 34mm, f/4.5, 6 sec - the Teapot Asterism and M7 globular cluster visible over the rooftops in the southern sky. |