Marzena Rogozińska: Milky Way above the Beskids

Milky Way above the Beskids: Your Place in the Galaxy

When was the last time you saw the Milky Way?

Not on a screen. Not in a photograph. But with your own eyes—standing under dark skies, feeling the weight of 200 billion stars above you.

For most people, the answer is "never" or "I can't remember." Light pollution has stolen one of humanity's oldest connections to the cosmos.

But Marzena Rogozińska's Milky Way above the Beskids brings that connection back.

This isn't just a landscape photograph. This is a window to our galactic home, captured from Poland's first International Dark Sky Community—a place where residents fought for decades to protect what most of the world has already lost.

The Road Home Through the Stars

September 2023. Sopotnia Wielka, nestled in the Beskid Mountains of southern Poland. A moonless night. Atmospheric transparency so perfect that the galactic core reveals structures invisible from 99% of Earth's populated areas.

The composition tells two stories simultaneously.

In the foreground, a road illuminated by passing car lights winds through an autumn meadow, leading your eye from the earthly valley toward the horizon. The soft glow highlights the terrain contours—the texture of mountain grass, the gentle undulations of the Beskid landscape.

Above, the Milky Way rises in full majesty.

The galactic core—that yellowish-orange bulge stretching from Sagittarius through Scorpius—dominates the frame with its wealth of dust lanes and emission regions.

These aren't abstract patterns. They're actual structures within our galaxy: dense clouds of interstellar dust blocking background starlight, creating the dark rifts and lanes that give the Milky Way its three-dimensional appearance.

The warm tonal balance comes from hydrogen emission zones within the galactic core, captured using hydrogen-alpha (Hα) exposures at 656.28 nanometers combined with standard RGB data. This technique reveals the faint red glow of ionized hydrogen gas—the same material from which new stars are forming throughout our galaxy's spiral arms.

Captured from Poland's Dark Sky Sanctuary

Sopotnia Wielka earned International Dark Sky Community designation in November 2023, culminating over 30 years of grassroots activism. This wasn't handed to them—they fought for it.

Starting in the late 1990s, local residents and dark-sky advocates successfully negotiated with government officials to reduce nighttime street lighting. In 2011, all 150 sodium street lamps were replaced with fully shielded LED fixtures with correlated color temperature not exceeding 3,000 Kelvin and zero upward light output.

The commitment continued: replacing private household lighting, establishing lighting guidelines, educating residents and tourists, hosting the annual Polish Dark Sky Festival. The community's Rational Lighting Policy was incorporated into the 2023-2030 Jeleśnia Commune Development Strategy—making dark-sky protection legally binding.

The result? Some of the darkest observing conditions in Poland, where the Milky Way appears not as a faint smudge but as a detailed band revealing dust lanes, emission nebulae, and countless star clouds invisible from light-polluted areas.

This is the sky Marzena Rogozińska photographed—combining RGB exposures for natural star colors with hydrogen-alpha narrowband data to reveal the faint emission structures within the galactic core.

Technical Details

• Date & Location: September 2023, Sopotnia Wielka, Beskid Mountains, Poland
• Camera: Canon 6D
• Filter: Hα Astronomik
• Lens: Samyang 35 mm
• Sky Exposure: 10 × 90 s (RGB) + 10 × 180 s (Hα)
• Foreground Exposure: 3 × 120 s
• Software: Photoshop

The Dialogue Between Worlds

What makes this image extraordinary is the compositional dialogue it creates between human and cosmic scales.

The illuminated road represents our terrestrial journey—the paths we travel, the valleys we inhabit, the mountains we call home. The Beskid landscape grounds us in the tangible: autumn meadows, mountain contours, the quiet sounds of surrounding forests.

Above, the Milky Way reminds us of our cosmic address: we're not looking at the galaxy from outside—we're inside it, viewing our galactic home edge-on from within one of its spiral arms. Every star in this photograph, every dust lane, every emission nebula exists in the same flat disk where our solar system resides.

The image bridges documentary realism with astrophotographic precision. This is both an accurate representation of the Beskid landscape and a scientifically valid capture of galactic structures.

Who Needs This Print?

• For the Art Collector: This is twice NASA-honored astrophotographer Marzena Rogozińska capturing the Milky Way from Poland's first and only International Dark Sky Community. The technical execution—combining RGB and Hα narrowband data—reveals structures invisible to standard photography. The compositional balance between landscape and cosmos creates a piece that works as both terrestrial documentary and scientific astrophotography.
• For the Space Enthusiast: You understand what you're seeing. Those dark dust lanes are the Great Rift—massive clouds of interstellar dust blocking light from background stars. The warm glow is hydrogen-alpha emission from star-forming regions throughout the galactic core. This print speaks the language of galactic structure, stellar formation, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
• For the Interior Designer: Your clients want the meaningful, the authentic, the conversation-starting. How many homes feature the Milky Way captured from an internationally designated dark-sky sanctuary? How many prints combine landscape photography with narrowband astrophotography technique? This piece transforms spaces from decorated to profound.
• For Those Who Remember Dark Skies: Maybe you grew up in rural areas. Maybe you've traveled to remote locations and looked up in wonder. Maybe you've stood under truly dark skies and felt something shift inside—a recognition of scale, of belonging, of cosmic perspective. This print brings that feeling home. Permanently.
• For the Gift Seeker: You want something that matters. Something that connects the recipient to their place in the universe while showcasing artistic mastery and technical excellence. Wrapped in museum-quality materials lasting over 200 years—this is the gift that bridges human and cosmic timescales.

The Astrography Difference

We curate ruthlessly. We don't showcase every Milky Way photograph on the internet—we select the ones that combine technical mastery, compositional excellence, and genuine storytelling power.

This image survived our selection process because it delivers:

• Dark-sky advantage: Captured from Poland's first International Dark Sky Community, ensuring maximum galactic detail
• Technical sophistication: RGB and hydrogen-alpha narrowband data revealing emission structures invisible to standard imaging
• Compositional balance: The illuminated road leading toward the rising Milky Way creates visual dialogue between terrestrial and cosmic scales
• Scientific accuracy: True representation of galactic core structures, dust lanes, and emission regions
• Premium quality: Fine Art prints lasting over 200 years, or budget-friendly poster options—your choice

Bring the Galaxy Home

Every morning, you'll wake up to the Milky Way rising above the Beskids. Every evening, guests will stop and stare, recognizing something they've lost—or never had. Every day, you'll own a window to your cosmic home, captured by one of the world's most accomplished astrophotographers from one of Europe's darkest remaining skies.

Over one-third of Earth's population can no longer see the Milky Way from their homes. Don't let that be your reality. Don't settle for the stolen sky.

Reclaim your place in the galaxy.