Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Be sure and stop by the gift shop as you leave. Thank you for visiting Death Valley.

This eerie glow over Death Valley is in danger. Scrolling right will show a spectacular view from one of the darkest places left in the continental United States: Death Valley, CA. The 360-degree full-sky panorama is a composite of 30 images taken two years ago in Racetrack Playa.

The image has been digitally processed and increasingly stretched at high altitudes to make it rectangular. In the foreground on the image right is an
unusually placed rock that was pushed by high winds onto Racetrack Playa after a slick rain. In the background is a majestic night sky, featuring thousands of stars and many constellations.

The arch across the middle is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Light pollution is threatening dark skies like this all across the US, and therefore the International Dark-Sky Association and the US National Parks Service are suggesting methods that can protect them.

A dark sky over Death Valley. (NASA)