Hey Brian, this is long exposure photography and nothing more than that. The milky way is only visible in the summer while facing south. The setup usually is f/2.8 ISO 1600 and 30s exposure, depending on the quantity of light polution in the place. You can try different exposures and settings, good lens for this in APS-C is the Tokina 11-16 2.8. When you use it at 11mm, you get the chance to extend your exposure time to 50 seconds, giving you more details, if you expose for too long, the natural movement of the earth will make star trails on the picture.
Hope i can help!