The Milky Way over Two Medicine Lake in Waterton Glacier

The Milky Way rises with Jupiter over Sinopah Mountain in Waterton Glacier and is reflected in Two Medicine Lake.
The starry sky at new moon sparkles like diamonds in total darkness revealing detailed insight into our galaxies’ central structure of dense star fields and light absorbing nebular dust. The Milky Way’s galactic center with its assumed black hole position is located just over the horizon, deeply hidden by dark clouds of interstellar dust. Thus our view on the Milky Way in the Sagittarius constellation shows a bifurcated appearance. The small but bright reddish object above is the Lagoon Nebula, M8, a star-forming region at a distance of 5200 light years. The brightest object left of the Milky Way is Jupiter. The star tracks remain visible in the lake due to the mirroring effect of tracking in the opposite direction.
A night out in the blackness of the new moon is an awe-inspiring experience. The grandeur of the Milky Way, the sublimity of the landscape, the chilly temperatures and the presence of wildlife are intoxicating. Deep feelings of humility mix with euphoria and fear and captivate the senses.