Mikey Ratcliffe, Yenyening's River of Stars (ENTRIES CLOSED - March theme: The Great Outdoors)

The vast Milky Way arches overhead like a luminous river of light, flowing across the endless dark skies above Yenyening Lakes in Western Australia's Wheatbelt. Captured in pristine Bortle 1-2 conditions roughly two hours east of Perth, the full galactic arc stretches from horizon to horizon over the cracked salt pans and ephemeral waters, a breathtaking reminder of our place in the cosmos under one of the region's darkest and most accessible night skies.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.