Milky Way Above the Smolikas Dragon Lake

A photo composite, captured from the exact location/spot. From the photographer: “During our recent trip to Mount Smolikas, we had the chance to have an overnight camp at the Dragon Lake of Mount Smolikas. After a two-hour hike from the Smolikas mountain refuge, we arrived at the Dragon Lake. We set our tents and we headed up to the summit of Mount Smolikas at an altitude of 2637 m.

We returned to our tents during the astronomical twilight, so it was the right time to have a dinner and relax talking and stargazing. This was the right time for me to capture this image (probably the highlight of the trip). In this frame, I included the milky way standing above our tents, at the foreground, the tents and the light of our friends’ headtorches, as well as part of the Dragon Lake, reflecting part of the night sky.”

Secondary photo: “Autumn is one of my favorite time of the year for astrophotography, because at the start of the night you can see the milky way core and the rest summer constellations, when at the end, just before the sunrise, you can see some of the winter constellations, like Orion. During my recent trip to Mount Helmos and being at an altitude of 2430 m, I had the chance to observed the night sky during the whole night. In this image, I just got out of my tent in order to capture the Orion constellation rising. (September 2, 2024).”