11 Nights of the Milky Way From the Canary Islands

U.K.-born photographer Nicholas Buer describes himself “just a time-lapse guy who loves the night sky.” This love takes him from the bitter cold of the arctic to the dry heat of the desert, and all the beautiful landscapes in between. The footage he captured along the way has appeared on BBC, Discovery Channel, The Weather Channel, National Geographic, CNN, among many others. In a talk with weather.com, Buer said:

I have always had a passion for astronomy. Gazing up at the night sky has always filled me with a sense of wonder, but it has only been since recent advancements in [camera] technology that I have been able to capture the beauty of the night sky in ways I could have only dreamed of as a child.

Back in March, Buer spent 11 nights on La Palma, Canary Islands. He wanted to capture the Milky Way rising from the horizon at a low angle across the sky – something that required quite a bit of planning.

There are two main factors that affect the position of the Milky Way: latitude and time of year. Latitude is your distance either North or South from the Earth’s equator. La Palma is positioned at 28˚ North, which is a good latitude to photograph the central core of the Milky Way. Time of year affects the angle in which the Milky Ways appears in the sky. The Milky Way season starts in March and ends in October. To achieve the correct angle I had to visit as early as possible in the season and with the new Moon phase of March being the week of the 6th the plan was set.

Bruer says he endured the toughest weather conditions he ever encountered in his time shooting astrophotography. But not only did he have to hike up cold and extremely windy mountains with a heavy backpack, waiting for the Milky Way to rise at 3 a.m. for 11 consecutive nights also took its toll.

I was a little broken, but adventure only truly starts when you are faced with challenges. When you overcome them, you remember these moments with far more clarity over anything else.

The 146-second time-lapse Bruer eventually posted on his Vimeo-page is truly a work of art. Check it out, and go follow him

Check out more from Buer on Instagram, his Facebook-page and on his website.