A Nightscape Reveals the Ha emission along the path of Winter Milky Way Shining above Alqueva Lake
Alqueva´s Dark Sky Reserve | By Year: 2026
Always dreamed of capturing vast areas of the sky in Ha and to be able to reveal them on my nightscape scenes as a “bigger picture” of what is standing there unnoticed to our naked -Ha blind- eyes. Specially on the winter sky, for being so rich in Ha emission. This vast landscape captured from Campinho, at Dark Sky® Alqueva, Portugal, reveals all the Ha emission spread across the winter Milky Way faint path. Some of this includes the Orion complex (M42, Barnard’s Loop, and Lambda Orionis. At the lower center Rosette, Cone, Christmas Tree and Seagull nebulae. While at the center’s top, California and the Flaming Star nebula are shining bright, I was impressed with the detailed view of supernova remnants Simeis 147 made of reddish spaghetti filaments. Top left edge, reaveal the Heart and Soul bright nebulea. Between the Hyades and the Pleiades stars – top right corner – are visible dark shapes of interstellar dust. All of this forms a continuous network of ionized hydrogen that links the winter constellations in a unique cosmic tapestry. Above Alqueva lake and close to the horizon, bright stars like Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon are forming the asterism known as the Winter Triangle. On the left edge, Castor and Pollux from Gemini constellation, are colorful shining near the apparently brightest star visible on the image, which belong indeed, to the king of the Solar System, planet Jupiter. The image is a vertical mosaic of 8 single tracked images on a Polarie U, each one of 30 second exposure, captued with a Sigma 28mm f1.4 lens set to f2 on a Nikon Z8 astromodified camera. Later combined and registered with a much larger and wider Ha complex panorama captured from the same place, with a 50mm f1.2 and 7nm Baader Ha filter.
PT: Sempre sonhei captar vastas áreas do céu em Ha (hidrogénio-alfa) e poder revelá-las nas minhas imagens nightscape como um “panorama maior” do que existe no céu mais profundo, mas passa despercebido à nossa visão a olho nu, pois somos quase cegos em certo compimentos de onda como o Ha. Sobretudo no céu de inverno, por ser tão rico nesta emissão. A vasta paisagem captada a partir de Campinho, no Dark Sky® Alqueva, Portugal, revela toda a emissão de Ha espalhada pela ténue faixa da Via Láctea de Inverno. Parte deste inclui o complexo de Orionte (M42, Laço de Barnard e Lambda Orionis). Na parte inferior central, encontram-se as nebulosas da Roseta, do Cone, da Árvore de Natal e da Gaivota. Enquanto no topo central, a Califórnia e a Nebulosa da Estrela Flamejante brilham intensamente, fiquei impressionado com a visão detalhada da supernova remanescente Simeis 147, composta por filamentos avermelhados semelhantes a esparguete. No topo esquerdo, brilham fortemente as inseparáveis nebulosas do Coração e da Alma. Entre as estrelas dos aglomerados Híades e Pleiades – no canto superior direito – são visíveis formas escuras de poeira interestelar. Tudo isto forma uma rede contínua de hidrogénio ionizado que liga as constelações de inverno numa tapeçaria cósmica única. Acima do lago Alqueva e perto do horizonte, estrelas brilhantes como Sirius, Betelgeuse e Procyon formam o asterismo conhecido como Triângulo de Inverno. Na região esquerda desta fotografia, Castor e Polux, pertencentes à constelação de Gémeos, brilham perto da estrela aparentemente mais brilhante visível na imagem, que pertence, de facto, ao rei do Sistema Solar, o planeta Júpiter.
A imagem é um mosaico vertical de 8 imagens individuais de 30 segundos cada, com acompanhamento do movimento sideral numa Polarie U. Cada exposição foi captada com uma objetiva Sigma 28mm f1.4 definida para f2, numa câmara Nikon Z8 astromodificada. Posteriormente, as imagens foram combinadas e registadas com um amplo e complexo panorama de Ha, captado a partir do mesmo local com uma lente 50mm f1.2 e um filtro Baader Ha de 7nm.
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