Jon Allard took the striking image over Brightlingsea’s Bateman’s Tower during the weekend, showing the band of our galaxy appearing in the night sky above the historic waterfront landmark.
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our solar system.
On dark, clear nights it can appear as a faint, misty band stretching across the sky, created by the combined light of enormous numbers of distant stars.
It is easier to see away from heavily lit-up towns and cities, when there is little cloud cover and minimal moonlight.
These conditions reduce light pollution and allow fainter stars and the glowing centre of the galaxy to stand out.
Bateman’s Tower offered a dramatic foreground for Jon’s photograph as the Milky Way rose above Brightlingsea during the weekend.