Ben Curachan Under the Milky Way
The mountains are the closest we can get to the stars while standing on solid ground.
The mountains are the closest we can get to the stars while standing on solid ground. Ben Curachan is the tallest mountain in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Without full dark ever visiting this area of the world in the month of July, a rare clear night still graced the blue night sky with the stars of the Milky Way!
This family vacation was one of the millions that had to be cancelled in 2020. A best friend I met in 6th grade lives in Scotland with her family, and we had been trying to visit for years. Finally booked, and then the pandemic hit. Rescheduled in July of 2023, and got to take this trip across the pond to the UK. It was an unforgettable family adventure, and we were lucky enough to see the Milky Way in the blue night sky while in the highlands. I didn’t expect to be able to see it at all, since it doesn’t get fully dark this time of year!
Even though it doesn’t get completely dark during the summer months in the United Kingdom, I was lucky enough to see Ben Cruachan under clear night skies on this family vacation to Scotland.
You may not know this -but- the night sky is not blue.
Unless there is sunlight present in some way.
The sky is blue, and there isn’t a lot of detail in the stars, in this image because the sun doesn’t fully set during July in Scotland. The night sky will only look blue if there is sunlight or moonlight in the sky.
When editing my photos, I will often allow my sky to be more blue than ideal to compensate for light pollution. That is not what I’ve done in this case. In this particular image of the Milky Way with Ben Cruachan the sky is blue because the sun doesn’t go below the horizon.
It is now a bucket list trip of mine to see the Milky Way on a dark night in the Scottish Highlands.