Devil’s Tower, a towering igneous intrusion in northeastern Wyoming, isn’t just a geological marvel. It’s also a prime destination for stargazing and astrophotography. Its remote location, high elevation, and minimal light pollution make it an ideal spot to witness the breathtaking beauty of the night sky. That’s exactly what I did the summer of 2024 during my family RV trek across the US. My goal was to try to get a spectacular portrait of the Milky Way behind the tower.
Knowing that we would need to spend the night at the tower, I found a great little B&B near the tower called Devil’s Tower Lodge.
The weather was absolutely perfect, and as the date approached, it seemed like I was going to get my night under the Bortle 2 skies of Devil’s Tower. To say that I was excited would be a huge understatement.
On our way to the lodge, we stopped at the Joyner Ridge Trailhead, and decided this would be our observing site for the evening, as it was positioned just perfectly to line up the Milky Way and the tower. When we arrived there I realized that some of the inspiring Milky Way shots that I had seen must have been shot at this location.
I set up my iOptron SkyGuider Pro star tracker with my Canon 6D, which would get the main Milky Way shot. I also set up my Askar 400 deep sky camera, to capture the eastern Veil nebula in Cygnus. I definitely wanted to take advantage of the Bortle 2 skies!
The Canon 6D was set at ISO 1600, and had a Canon 16-35 f/2.8L lens, set at about 24mm, and stopped down to F/4. This tends to give tiny pinpoint stars and gives the Milky Way a dusty look.
The evening was spectacular, with not a cloud in the sky, nice cool evening air, and a 3 or 4 day old crescent moon setting in the west. We were constantly entertained by satellites zipping across the sky, and some spectacular meteors. I was amazed at how late we were able to see satellites; normally they are only visible for about an hour after dusk. Must be the dark skies. All the motion in the skies around Devil’s Tower gave an eerie feeling right out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
All the gear worked great, and I did get some excellent captures for both the Milky Way shot (at the top), and also the Eastern Veil shot, which also came out nicely; it really helps to have a pristine dark sky, to capture superior images in much less time than under a light polluted sky.
Image Setup and Processing for the Milky Way Landscape Shot
I shot several images of the tower during and after golden hour, to get a good sharp foreground shot, then stacked the 62 x 2min Milky Way images in AstroPixelProcessor, and did some minor processing and cleanup.
Then these two were layered in PhotoShop, and aligned. Nothing needed to be resized or rotated because I shot the foreground and the starscape from the same mount.
All Good Things…
In the morning we woke up in our suite to a gorgeous view of Devils Tower, went upstairs and had some coffee on the deck, enjoyed the sit down breakfast, and said goodbye to our astrophotography friends that we met. As we left Devil’s Tower Lodge, I knew this would certainly be one of my most memorable astronomy experiences.
Whether you’re a seasoned astrophotographer or simply a stargazing enthusiast, Devil’s Tower offers an unforgettable experience. With its stunning natural beauty and pristine night skies, it’s a must-visit destination for anyone who loves to look up at the stars. And now you know where to go to get the shot!
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