A Dark Sky Over Death Valley

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:39 am

Is that a 180 or 360 degree shot? The Milkyway shouldn't look like a rainbow shape, so something's up with that photo. Neat photo none the less, personally, I think it have more life with color, but then again, it is of Death Valley...

Cool stuff,

-Eric

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:30 am

Key_of_D wrote:Is that a 180 or 360 degree shot? The Milkyway shouldn't look like a rainbow shape, so something's up with that photo. Neat photo none the less, personally, I think it have more life with color, but then again, it is of Death Valley...

Cool stuff,

-Eric

Click on the photo for the answer to your question.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:58 am

The photo doesn't even come close to how magnificent a true dark
sky looks like. Its hard to believe that starlight can actually become
overwhelmingly bright, but that's how it feels to view the Milky Way
with no moon.

djm

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:20 am

djm wrote:The photo doesn't even come close to how magnificent a true dark
sky looks like. Its hard to believe that starlight can actually become
overwhelmingly bright, but that's how it feels to view the Milky Way
with no moon.

djm

For two years I lived in a remote desert area not very far from the mountain where Kitt Peak National Observatory is located SW of Tucson, Arizona. I can remember the moonless night skies when you could see the Milky Way in its dazzling spendor.

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:25 am

beautiful

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:05 am

Indeed

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:53 am

To date, Denny, this is absolutely one of the most spellbinding images that you have posted here.

Thanks oodles and oodles!!!

Coffee · Post by **Coffee** » Tue May 08, 2007 11:24 am

Sad really. That's the kind of thing that everybody should be able to see in their backyards on moonless nights.

I want my dark sky back dangit.

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:06 pm

Yeah, here in the city, you could count all the visible stars and it wouldn't be too difficult. I doubt there's more then a 100 visible stars here in the city. And yet a 30 mile trip northwest into the open desert and the skies start looking like the photo Denny posted above. It is sad. And I'm positive it's from light pollution mainly, but I'm sure car pollution isn't helping either. I go fishing all night during the hot summer so as to avoid the heat of the day and also catch some big catfish or carp at night, at a lake out of town by about 50 miles, you can look at back towards the city, and see this huge glow in the sky. Look the opposite direction, pitch black, minus the stars and planets of course. That glow in the sky, just keeps getting bigger every summer...

sbhikes · Post by **sbhikes** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:16 pm

You can see the glow of Las Vegas from Death Valley now. The sky is no longer dark there. It's truly sad.

egreen · Post by **egreen** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:06 pm

Go over the hump into Panamint Valley and the sky is a bit darker, but you still have light pollution from Trona and Ridgecrest. But it's just a small smudge on the horizon. Not a *big* smudge on the horizon like 'Vegas.