Photographing the Milky Way in Zambia
This photograph popped up on my Facebook feed recently as a memory from a good few years ago and I’m so glad it did. I took the image on the grounds of Waterberry Lodge near Livingstone in Zambia. Admittedly, it took a number of attempts as it was taken after a magical evening of fireside wine and chatter with my friend. We had been volunteering at a school for a few weeks just outside of town. Treated ourselves to a few nights of luxury in this beautiful lodge on the Zambezi River. We were perfectly chilled and so in awe of the night sky that we decided to try and capture it on camera.
The shot shows our galaxy, The Milky Way, as a star-filled streak across the night sky. So many stars clustered together that it almost looks like clouds.
What Makes the Milky Way Visible in the Night Sky?
The Milky Way is an enormous spiral, a spinning disk of stars with a black hole at its center. One of the spurs or arms emanating from the center of the spiral is the arm that our solar system sits on. It’s called the Orion Arm, and our planet is about halfway along it. So, for a couple of months of the year, our nightscape shows a view looking towards the center of the Milky Way. For the rest of the year, we see the view looking away from the center, at the outer half of the Orion Arm.
During the time of this trip to Zambia, we were lucky enough to be looking straight into the center of our Milky Way, and so it appeared much brighter and fuller. We were able to marvel at it with the naked eye. Which is sadly not something that is really possible from the UK with all our light pollution.
Finding the Milky Way and Reflecting on Our Place in the Universe
Finding the Milky Way is possible from the UK, on clear, dark nights, between April and October. But is much easier to see it from the Southern Hemisphere during the months of June and July. Look in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
My little brain still does not comprehend the vastness of our solar system. Let alone our galaxy or the universe, and beyond. But what I do know is that we are all connected somehow. Our planet vibrates at a specific frequency, as do all of the celestial objects out there. Someday, we will find a way to get in tune with each other. But until then, I will continue to look up and marvel at the vastness of our universe and just how tiny we really are within it.
