Where in the World? #10

Ready for summer? Aching to shelter outside? Admittedly, this could be most anywhere but can you guess nonetheless. You can easily drive there from Atlanta.

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And did you guess our last location with the full-horizon view of the Milky Way? Third rock from the sun is correct but not the answer we were looking for. We are out West in Canyonlands National Park in the  middle of the night just after the clouds cleared.

The image is a compilation of seven images stitched together, each about 20 seconds with a nearly wide open, wide angle lens. Post processing software combines the seven images into this one and then Adobe software enables you to highlight the image to make it into what you see above.

The image below was taken from roughly the same spot but a bit earlier in the night while a class for night photographers was stationed next to the canyon rim to take their own images. The red light is from their headlamps - red light is easier on the eyes at night. The white light from the back of their cameras. I call this image Night Stalkers. If you look closely in front of the photographers, you can see the path they took to get there.

It is wonderfully quiet while you are out there, unless there is a class like this one going on. Usually, it is just you and a couple of other people. This night, after the class adjourned, a young man traveling between marathons kept me company. He had finished one that day and could not sleep so he wandered out to look at the sky.

Sometimes, though, there is no company or only the occasional kangaroo rat or other small critter who is attracted by the light you use to set up. It is inspiring to witness the sky without the now over-prevalent light pollution that covers most of the developed world. It is humbling to bear witness to the immensity of our universe.

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All photos and text are copyright Clinton Richardson. If you like these posts, please tell your friends about the Venture Moola blog at Readjanus.com. And, feel free to share this blog. The more readers the better.  Click here if you would like to get a weekly email that notifies you when we release new entries. Or, click in the side column to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.