The winter Milky Way arcs across the sky over the villages of Poynings, Fulking and Steyning below with Devil's Dyke visible to the left.
Astro objects include Orion Nebula, Jupiter, Pleiades and Andromeda (for more information on these see the labelled diagrams below).
The Winter Milky Way Arch over the South Downs National Park:
Panoramic Photo:
Labelled Panoramic Photo and Close-Ups
Labelled Panoramic Version:
Labelled Close-Up Left Side:
Info on Night Sky Objects
Beehive Cluster – An open star cluster in Cancer, about 600 light-years away, visible to the naked eye as a faint cloud.
Mars – The Red Planet - its iron-rich dust gives it a reddish color.
Procyon – The eighth-brightest star in the sky.
Rosette Nebula – A large, circular emission nebula with a young star cluster (NGC 2244) at its centre.
n.b. a nebula is a giant cloud of gas and dust - formed from the remnants of dying stars or the birthplace of new ones.
Betelgeuse – A red supergiant (one of the largest visible stars) in the constellation of Orion.
Sirius – The brightest star in the night sky. Although in reality a binary star (two stars) with the bright Sirius A and fainter Sirius B.
Orion Nebula – A massive star-forming region 1,300 light-years away, visible as the middle “star” in Orion’s sword.
Jupiter – The largest planet in the solar system and the brightest object in this photo (fourth brightest in the sky behind the Sun, the Moon and Venus).
Info on Landscape
Devil’s Dyke - a steep valley on the edge of Brighton and a popular tourist destination. Legend has it the devil tried to dig a valley to the sea to flood the Weald and its many churches.
Villages - Poynings, Fulking and Steyning can be seen going from the foreground to the background of the landscape.
Labelled Close-Up Right Side:
Info on Night Sky Objects
Pleiades – A bright and beautiful blue star cluster in Taurus, known as the Seven Sisters.
Capella – The brightest star in Auriga (a pair of giant yellow stars orbiting each other).
California Nebula – A long, faint emission nebula in Perseus shaped like the state of California.
Mirfak – The brightest star in Perseus - a luminous supergiant surrounded by the Alpha Persei Cluster.
Double Cluster – Two neighboring open clusters (NGC 869 & NGC 884) in Perseus, easily seen through binoculars.
Heart and Soul Nebula – Two large star-forming emission nebulae in Cassiopeia located near each other in the Milky Way.
Andromeda – The nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, visible to the naked eye and about 2.5 million light-years away.
Polaris – The current North Star - located nearly exactly above Earth’s rotational axis, around which all other stars appear to rotate.
Photo as seen in my Brighton Calendar 2026 (click to see)!
This version of the photo appears in my Brighton Calendar 2026 - Night and Day. A collection of stunning and unique photos taken around the city of Brighton throughout all times of the day and year!
< Click here to view the Brighton Calendar 2026 - Night and Day >
⭐️ BRIGHTON CALENDAR 2026 - NIGHT AND DAY⭐️
Including photos of the Winter Milky Way Arch - plus the Northern Lights, Huge Moons, Starling Murmurations and Lunar Eclipse! (click to see the photos!)
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Hope you enjoyed reading about the Milky Way Arch over the South Downs National Park - feel free to leave a comment if you liked it! 😊
Many thanks,
Michael ✨