My wife and I went to Pigeon Forge, TN in mid-September 2010. We stayed in a cabin in the hills about 5 miles out of town. The air was clear, the daily walks were invigorating and just as important to an amateur astronomer, the skies were moderately dark.
I battled a waxing half-Moon, but in clear, unpolluted skies, the sky glow was bearable.
Taking astro photos in Pigeon Forge gave me an opportunity to image several deep space Milky Way objects that I cannot see at home because of light pollution. Without further ado, here are some of the pictures that I took.
Lagoon Nebula (Messier Object - M8)
Eagle Nebula (Messier Object - M16)
Swan Nebula (Messier Object - M17)
Trifid Nebula (Messier Object - M20)
Andromeda Galaxy (Messier Object - M31)
The Pleiades (The Seven Sisters Star Cluster) (Messier Object - M45)
North America Nebula (NGC-7000)
Harvest Moon (September 21st, 2010 )
That's all for now. I hope to capture images of other deep space objects on a clear weekend night very soon. Check back often for updates.
Starpilot.
