Due to light pollution, it’s hard to find a place where a person can see the Milky Way. According to Dark Sky International, “light pollution is the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally. Light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human health, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change, and blocks our view of the universe.”
I am lucky. I don’t have to travel far to see the Milky Way. Here are a few images from the past week.
The girls and I were camped at our favorite ‘secret’ lake last week and on the last night, I made a plan to photograph the Milky Way. I went to bed at 10 with the alarm set for 2 am when the Milky Way would be stretched above the horizon. Of course, when I was awakened at 2, my body only reluctantly went outside to make sure I had the plan correct. Well, being offline for several days, I did not get the message that instead of the Milky Way, I was going to see the biggest Aurora Borealis of my life. At first I was puzzled because it was so light out and I could not see the stars but then my mind began to wake up and focus and I could see the waves of light filling the night sky, even as I looked to the south! I had no view to the north because the forest was right behind me. The waves of light seemed to come from directly above me, like a revolving kaleidoscope! And then some major waves came from the north east. I can only imagine what the view would have been beyond the trees.
Have you ever been out in the dark and seen the Milky Way and shooting stars? Have you stayed out there for hours, watching the night sky revolve around you, or I should say, watching as you revolved around the night sky? If you can find yourself truly out in the dark, without extraneous light (not an easy thing to find), you will be amazed at what you can see, once your eyes adjust to the night sky.
Last night’s show of the Aurora Borealis was unbelievable. The lights were moving as if in a celestial dance. They glowed, made curtains, pillars, and moved throughout the sky from the northwest to the northeast and back again, sometimes filling the entire northern sky. They towered high above the horizon. They were green, red, pink and clouds glowed purple. Moonlight splashed a glowing light on the snow-covered landscape.
I could have made photos all night. These are from around 11 til midnight. The last batch was from 9:30 til 10:30 or so. Later Ken woke me at 4 am and said I really should get up to see them again. We just stood in awe of the scenes we were seeing. I did not get the camera out again. It was truly an unbelievable experience.
Last night’s show of the Aurora Borealis was unbelievable. The lights were moving as if in a celestial dance. They glowed, made curtains, pillars, and moved throughout the sky from the northwest to the northeast and back again, sometimes filling the entire northern sky. They towered high above the horizon. They were green, red, pink and clouds glowed purple. Moonlight splashed a glowing light on the snow-covered landscape.
My Everyday Photos 