The aurora australis under the mighty Milky Way, with the city lights at far left and right. This 12-shot panorama was captured from Port Phillip Heads, VIC, on a clear night.

The aurora australis seen from Albany, WA. It was quite exciting to view this at such a high latitude, and to have the weather cooperate at the same time! 

An 8 image stitch, taken at a friend’s place in Wondecla on the Atherton Tablelands near Herbeton, Far North Queensland.

The skies above Cascade, WA, are so dark. On a clear night the Milky Way is mesmerising! I took this photo of myself gazing at the night sky using a remote timer. I’m standing atop a hay bale in one of our paddocks.

The night sky over the Hawkesbury River, NSW.

A surreal moonrise over the south coast of NSW. Cold wind and spray from the crashing waves ceased for a moment as the Moon’s rays edged above the horizon.

Aurora behind gum trees, TAS.

This image was captured while I was on my way home from Lake Moogerah in south-eastern QLD. 

This was taken in Woongoolba, about 45 minutes south of Brisbane. It was clear at 9pm heading down there, but then some clouds rolled in to spoil the party! I had given up hope at this stage and had packed all my gear into my car, when I turned around and saw a break in the clouds. I quickly grabbed everything out again and snapped this photo.

The Milky Way rises over Gympie, QLD.

The Koo Wee Rup Lookout in Gippsland, VIC, was an excellent foreground addition when I shot this on a clear autumn night.

This is the Milky Way over a nice campfire with friends in Penrose State Forest, in the NSW Southern Highlands. The sky was very clear, and I had to leave this spot around the campfire to get some photos.

The southern sky over the Tarkine coast, TAS, 2014.

A vertical panorama comprising of 5 images to obtain a high resolution portrait shot of Counter Road, Goomboorian in Queensland. The foreground is lit by a half moon at my back.

After being informed of some solar wind activity over Antarctica, I thought I’d have a go at capturing a distant view of aurora australis (southern lights) – as well as capturing the milky way through the clear night. I headed off to Fishery Bay on the Eyre Peninsula and setup at left point, giving me a view of the bay as well. Captured through 7 separate frames then stitched together, this image shows the full stretch of the milky way as well as a hint of ‘green glow’ from aurora australis.

Whispers in the Dark, my first attempt at astro-photography. In the Whitsundays (Hamilton Island), I found myself with searching the galaxy for answers accompanied with the eerie sounds and shadows of the early hours of the morning.

The breathtaking ETA Carina Nebula is one of the true jewels of the southern sky sitting near the Southern Cross this is the largest and brightest emission nebula in the sky. This giant glowing pink cloud of Hydrogen gas is less famous than the Orion Nebula only because it is only visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Olympus OMD EM1 with Zuiko 150mm F2.0 Lens on Ioptron Skytracker Mount. 23 Minutes Total Exposure from 46X30 second ISO1600 F2.0  frames stacked in Deepskystacker. Contrast and Saturation Increased and Noise Reduced.

Aurora australis – Melbourne. Aurora australis seen through Melbourne’s light pollution, Overlooking Port Phillip Bay, with the lights of Portarlington on the horizon. Photo taken on 18 May 2015, following a level G4 geomagnetic storm, the biggest in a decade.

Taken not far from Rathdowney, at a little place called Oaky Creek, two days before the April new moon. This panorama consists of 12 individual frames to capture the full arc of the Milky Way, with the galactic core rising between two dead trees, and the Southern Cross and the Pointers taking pride of place in the centre of the frame, pointing the way south. You can also see one of the Magellanic Clouds heading towards the horizon just to the right of centre. Surprisingly, the glow you see in the lower left hand corner is the light pollution from the Gold Coast, some 80 odd kilometres away!!

After waiting for a night with a predicted southern lights, I set out to Port Phillip Heads to shoot this 12-image panorama extending from east to west. With some luck the sky cleared around the centre to give a nice view of the Milky Way extending over the entire southern sky creating a nice image with depth enhanced by the moving clouds and Point Lonsdale Lighthouse.

The Milky Way silhouetting a Banksia tree in Girringun National Park in North Queensland. This was taken before moonrise on the rim of the Herbert River Valley on a clear September evening. The single exposure was taken at 14mm for 30 seconds with ISO2000 and at f/2.8.

Crop inspections under the stars.

Says photographer Matt Williams: “While camping last year at Coleyville, I had set my tripod and camera up earlier in the afternoon to capture sunset, and then a star-trail image later in the evening with the same composition to be blended together in post.

I had already taken my sunset shots (nothing too exciting) and had gone back to camp for dinner and a beer around the campfire. After the glow from the sun had well and truly vanished, I slipped away from the fire to sort out my camera for a night of star trails. Before altering the settings for the star trails, I fired off a single shot at my normal Milky Way settings.  At the exact moment I pressed the shutter release on my remote, I heard a loud bang to my left and looked up to see a single firework explode at a nearby property. The next 30 seconds were absolute torture….did I actually press the shutter early enough? Was the explosion in frame if I did manage to set it off before the firework exploded? It was seriously the longest 30seconds of my life!”

When the image appeared on my LCD screen on the back of the camera, I picked it up (tripod included) and rushed to show the others around the camp fire.  So much for the star trails!  

Says Matt Williams: “Around the time of the April new moon, I went exploring around the Rathdowney area, looking for a suitable place to spend the night under the stars. Hopefully somewhere with some nice foreground interest for my astro photos.

I stumbled upon this property with an abandoned old farm house.  After sweet talking the property owner, she agreed to let me spend the night on her property shooting the old house and the stars.

The old farmhouse was awesome…just the right amount of dereliction. I had to wait until after midnight for Scorpius to move in to the right position to be framed by the old window, with the remains of the window pointing the way.

This is a single exposure, with the interior of the farmhouse being lit with the glow from the screen of my iPhone.”

The Milky Way, as seen from the Warrumbungle National Park, NSW.