Several of the parks I visited on my Southwest trip were Dark Sky parks. They are land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.

I have always wanted to take photos of the Milky Way. The equipment and techniques required are different from shooting in full sunlight. Photographer Dan Norris has photographed the night skies in the Southwest. With his guidance and knowledge of the area he took the time to show me how to take an image of the Milky Way. I was excited and rewarded. I am hooked!

In this gallery you will see Skyline Arch and Courthouse Towers in Arches NP, Monument Valley in Utah and Goat Rock on the Sonoma Coast

Milky Way

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, about 100,000 light-years across.Spiral galaxies make up about two-third of the galaxies in the universe.

Unlike a regular spiral, a barred spiral contains a bar across its center region, and has two major arms. The Milky Way also contains two significant minor arms, as well as two smaller spurs. One of the spurs, known as the Orion Arm, contains the sun and the solar system. The Orion arm is located between two major arms, Perseus and Sagittarius.

The photo taken at Skyline Arch in Arches NP was taken on 9/30/2019. Skyline Arch graces the top of a large fin and is visible from many viewpoints around Arches National Park. This Arch is the only arch that sits on the skyline. We took the paved path to the campground amphitheater on the other side of Skyline Arch to frame the Milky Way. This is a single frame photo. We used a soft-box light to gently illuminate the arch.

My Guide Dan Norris showed me a spot where you could photograph the Milky Way between the two Courthouse Towers. The towers were illuminated by passing cars. That photo is a stack of 16 photos.

Great Conjunction
A great conjunction is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, when the two planets appear closest together in the sky. Great conjunctions occur approximately every 20 years when Jupiter "overtakes" Saturn in its orbit. 12/21/2020

Winter Constellations
Winter constellations are the constellations that are best observed in the evening night sky from late December to late March in the northern hemisphere and from late June to late September in the southern hemisphere.
The Winter Triangle, or the Great Southern Triangle, is an asterism formed by three bright stars in three prominent winter constellations.
These stars are Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon in Canis Minor and Sirius in Canis Major constellation.