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Milky Way, Jupiter & Saturn over Salto del Gitano

You want to see raptors, deers or wild pigs, plus the Milky Way, Jupiter & Saturn?

Monfragüe National Park in the Spanish Extremadura Region is famous for its extraordinary wild life. You can see an abundance of vultures and even eagles soaring the blue skies, or deers cruising the forests and the roads! So drive carefully in the park, especially at night.

The most iconic place in the park is Salto del Gitano, a rock formation framing the Tajo River. With over 1.000 kilometers, Rio Tajo is the longest stream of the Iberian Peninsula. When finally arriving to the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the river reaches majestic dimensions - just before vanishing in the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition to its fauna and flora, Monfragüe has one of the darkest skies of mainland Spain and is an official Dark Sky Reserve. When the night falls, the Milky Way shows its splendor over Salto del Gitano. The very luminous object on the top left of the image is Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system and literally a “bright guy”. A little bit lower and half way between Jupiter and the Milky Way is Saturn, the famous “ring planet”. It’s less flamboyant than Jupiter, but visually more striking than the surrounding stars. So you should find him easily ;)

The image is composed by a panorama of 7 images for the rock formations and the river, plus a mosaic of 8 panels (each with 15 min of exposure time) for the sky.

Salto del GitanoRio TajoTajo RiverMonfragüeParque Nacional de MonfragüeMonfragüe National ParkEstremaduraExtremaduraSpainMilky WayVia LacteaJupiterSaturnMosaicPanorama

From Nightscapes