32 separate 20 second exposures of the combined sky and ground were added together with the software program Sequator, the sky and ground were processed separately in the result and then combined in two photoshop layers

Winter Milky Way, bright stars, and hydrogen gas clouds: This photo shows winter favorite bright stars Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, the Pleiades, an "outward" view of the Milky Way galaxy (opposite the direction of the central core), and various clouds of hydrogen gas glowing red, most notably running through the constellation of Orion which is centered in the image. The trees in the foreground were illuminated by cars passing the area while the camera shutter was open. The mountain silhoutte on the right side is El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The image was taken in late February. Many fine night landscapes feature the central core of our Milky Way galaxy, but the bright stars and hydrogen gas clouds around the winter view also make for a wonderful "nightscape" sky.