Zodiacal Light Above the Irish Sea

The Zodiacal light as seen from Snowdon Summit, in Snowdonia National Park of Wales. Sometimes we go out purely for observations and for taking pictures, sometimes we go out for the adventure and thrill, and sometimes for all of these. This was a night where the gorgeous views and the images captured were nothing compared to the adventure to get there and back. I climbed the Snowdon summit on my own (highest mountain in Wales, which I had never climbed before) to catch the sunset and wait for the Zodiacal light, without much planning. Zodiacal light is that cone of white glow, eerie and spectacular when you are aware of it, occurring 1.5-2 hours after sunset or before sunrise, depending on location and time of the year. It’s the sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust.

I was the only person up there after sunset and as the stars started to appear, I knew the Zodiac was on its way and noticed it was due to be positioned above the best view that the mountain had on offer. The high altitude made the clouds, mist and freezing wind to kick in 1.5 hours after sunset, exactly at the wrong time for the Zodiac. So I sheltered and set both cameras shooting in that direction hoping to get lucky. Indeed a short gap in the clouds occurred and behold the lakes, mountains, island of Anglesey, the Irish Sea, the lights from Dublin and the Zodiacal light appeared, offering the best view I’d ever had.

On the descent from the summit I got lost but made it safely to my car and decided not to sleep, but to drive to the sea to capture the moonrise and the summer Milky Way which is back in the sky in the early morning. What a night and what a thrill!

Multiple exposure image. Stack of 4 x 16 seconds @ f/1.8

Canon 5D Mark IV + Sigma 14mm f/1.8

Stacked in Sequator. Gentle edits in Lightroom

Dedicated to my fellow stargazers, my mountaineer friends, and to Andreea