Milky Way on Trappers Loop

"A sweeping 180°+ panorama of the late spring Milky Way, captured from the upper meadows of Trappers Loop Scenic Byway near Eden, Utah. The bright galactic core (Sagittarius/Scorpius region) stands almost overhead, spilling billions of stars in a river of light from the southeast horizon all the way to the northwest. The dense star clouds of Scutum and Cygnus form a glowing backbone across the zenith. In the foreground, dark silhouettes of pines, gambel oaks, and rolling mountain ridges create dramatic leading lines into the scene. Subtle high-desert vegetation — sagebrush and wild grasses — is faintly visible in the extreme foreground, illuminated only by starlight and a touch of airglow. On the northern horizon, a soft dome of orange-pink light pollution from Ogden and the Wasatch Front reminds you civilization is just over the ridge, yet here the Bortle 3–4 sky still delivers an overwhelming display of the galaxy we call home."