She climbed to 13,780 feet and endured -20°F to photograph one of the rarest phenomena in the sky

French astrophotographer Angel Fux has spent years chasing some of the world’s most spectacular night skies, photographing remote landscapes across the Andes, the Pyrenees and the Dolomites. But a mission that began in March 2025 on a windswept Alpine peak ultimately led to one of the highest honors in astronomy photography.

Born in Paris in 1998, Fux mounted an extreme expedition to the summit of Dent d’Hérens, a 13,780-foot (4,200-meter) peak near the Matterhorn. Working within a narrow five-day weather window, she set out to capture one of the most elusive sights visible in the Northern Hemisphere night sky.

According to the photographer, once each year, during a brief period in March, both arms of the Milky Way become visible above the horizon during the same night. They cannot be seen simultaneously, but they appear over the course of a single rotation of the Earth, creating a unique opportunity for astrophotographers.

Capturing the Milky Way’s double arc

The phenomenon itself is not entirely new, and other photographers have documented it before. Fux had even photographed it previously from Gornergrat, at an elevation of about 10,170 feet (3,100 meters). However, her latest expedition sought to create a more ambitious image under far more demanding conditions.

The Milky Way is actually a single ring-like structure surrounding our vantage point in space. When photographers create a 360-degree panorama and project it onto a flat image, the sky becomes distorted, producing the dramatic illusion of two separate arcs stretching across the horizon and framing the mountains below.

As Fux explains, the winter arc, a calmer and less densely populated band of stars, rises during the first half of the night. Later, as Earth rotates, the summer arc emerges from the opposite direction, bringing with it the bright galactic core that appears as a dense river of light. Together, they form what astrophotographers call the Milky Way’s double arc.

Extreme cold and technical setbacks

The image required far more than perfect timing. Capturing the double arc demanded meticulous astronomical planning and a rare combination of environmental conditions. The correct lunar phase, an unobstructed 360-degree horizon, minimal light pollution and precise positioning all had to align.

The physical challenges were equally severe. Temperatures at altitude posed a constant risk of frostbite and equipment failure.

“My sleeping bag is designed to withstand temperatures down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30°C), with a survival threshold extending to around -58°F to -76°F (-50°C to -60°C),” Fux said. “My boots are triple-layer mountaineering boots with crampons, and I wore multiple clothing layers to balance insulation and mobility.”

Even with careful preparation, she encountered an unexpected technical problem. During one of her practice sessions before the main event, her camera appeared to function normally but failed to save any images to the memory card.

“During one of those sessions, my camera recorded a complete sequence lasting an hour and a half and captured nothing,” she recalled. “The images appeared on the screen, but not on the card. Apparently this is a known issue with mirrorless cameras in extreme cold, but it had never happened to me before.”

An unexpected bonus in the final image

Although the primary goal was to photograph the double arc, the final panorama contained an additional surprise.

While reviewing the winter arc section of the image, Fux noticed a faint oval-shaped glow stretching across the frame opposite the Sun’s position. The feature turned out to be the Gegenschein, a subtle glow caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles.

The phenomenon is notoriously difficult to photograph because of its extremely low brightness.

“There was a surprise,” she said. “I noticed a faint oval arc extending opposite the Sun with a subtle but unmistakable gradient. It was the Gegenschein. It’s very faint and rarely captured in photographs.”

NASA recognition

Although the photograph was taken on March 19, 2025, it gained worldwide attention more than a year later. On April 21, 2026, NASA selected the image as its prestigious Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), one of the most respected recognitions in astrophotography.

The final image was the result of an extraordinary amount of work. Fux combined more than 260 separate exposures to create the finished panorama, bringing together months of planning, an extreme alpine expedition and a fleeting celestial alignment that appears for only a few nights each year.

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