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Exploring The Night Skies Over Yosemite National Park

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Published Date

August 31, 2012

The night skies over Yosemite National Park offer another incredible aspect of the park. Screen grab from Night Skies video.

Most visitors to Yosemite National Park come to enjoy the waterfalls and the walls of granite, but there's another dimension that deserves your attention: the dazzling night skies overhead.

Videographer Steven M. Bumgardner took his cameras out after dark to capture some of those skies. Turning his lenses on vantage points such as Yosemite Fall and Half Dome set against pinpoints of light, and the occasional shooting star and passing satellite, Mr. Bumgardner has put together a steller video of the park's night skies.

Through the nearly 8-minute video you'll see galaxies and nebulae and meet some of the photographers who tote specialized equipment into the backcountry to capture the magic of the heavens. And you'll experience a truly wonderful aspect of Yosemite.

Enjoy.

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Comments

Submitted by Lee Dalton on August 31, 2012 - 8:31am.

Absolutely AWESOME!

Thank you so much, Steven, for sharing this with all of us.


Submitted by [email protected] on August 31, 2012 - 11:52am.

Kudos to Stephen Bumgardner for a job very well done! The night sky is a natural resource with cross-cultural significance. I'm especially thrilled to see the NPS at Yosemite National Park partnering with local and regional amateur astronomers to encourage them to share knowledge and equipment will park visitors curious enough to remain outside after dark. A dark and starry night above our parks is an experience worthy of promotion, interpretation, and protection. This video is effective in reaching out far beyond park boundaries. I hope it eventually goes viral on the internet. Thank you Kurt for featuring this fine Yosemite Nature Note on National Parks Traveler.


Submitted by admin on September 3, 2012 - 12:36am.

A couple of summers ago, we took our family to the Glacier Point star viewing mentioned. I believe it's held with a different astronomy club every Saturday night all summer long. I highly recommend it as a great opportunity to view the beautiful night skies over Yosemite, both with the naked eye, and through telescopes that the typical family wouldn't have.


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