Will the weather cooperate?
It looks like the skies might be clearing up for the new moon in February for the US. A big winter storm is rolling through the US right now, Feb 19th, and it looks like it could make way for great Milkyway Core photography next week with clearer skies.
![Palms Against The Milkway [Florida Beach]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f4968e_6c5f7fe728a64405a0cf75df283c9296~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/f4968e_6c5f7fe728a64405a0cf75df283c9296~mv2.jpg)
The new moon is February 27th and will be out of the way during the Milkyway core rising for a solid 4 or 5 days.
Get your plans together if you plan to shoot the dark skies this month, especially like me if you are in Florida. Where to shoot the Milkyway in Florida? There is no denying it's tough to find locations to photograph the Milkyway anywhere on the US east coast, but we do have a few little nooks we can access with dark skies. Scout your compositions during the daylight so you are well prepared during the dark hours and depending on where you shoot will dictate how much prep is needed. A great place to photograph the Milkyway early in the core season is on the east coast beaches. The arch is lower on the horizon and more towards the east over the ocean allowing for less light pollution in your scene. If youre in Southern Florida you can go to the Everglades or Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. For the north we can go to Stephen J Foster Park in southern Georgia for the darkest skies. All of those locations are International Dark Sky certified. The Matanzas area is pretty good for light pollution, mostly from the city of Palm Coast.
I am looking forward to traveling for some Milkyway shots this season, but for this month I think I will shoot close to home on the beach or about an hour away at my closest dark sky park Stephen C Foster in southern Georgia.
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