The wonders of the dark sky

A truly dark sky offers us more than just a "few stars" and planets. In the spring, we see in the night sky one arc formed by the winter Milky Way full of hydrogen nebulae and the other arc the so-called zodiacal bridge. Above Kráľová Hoľa (1946), Low Tatras in Slovakia, it is the "zodiac light" that passes along the ecliptic through the planets Jupiter and Mars towards the east where it brightens again as a "counterglow or gegenschein.".
As the icing on the cake, the aurora borealis unexpectedly appears above the northern horizon. This is due to the "Russel-McPherron effect". At this time of year, cracks form in Earth’s magnetic field. Even a weak stream of solar wind can penetrate to spark a good display.
 
Image taken on 19.3.2025, Besník saddle, Telgárt, Slovakia
Canon 6Dmod + Sigma 24mm, f1.4…f2.0, ISO 4000, 13sec