"Wondrous Skies" New Year Greetings

  

     At this time of year, we remember how once Shepherds and Wise Men were in awe of the heavenly sights they witnessed in the night sky.  

     Karen & I can appreciate this to some degree; we have lived in both Yellowstone (1970's) and Grand Canyon (2000's) National Parks. Each is situated at high elevations, away from the lights of any urban areas. This made for some absolutely amazing night skies!

     At the Grand Canyon, one treat was to view the Canyon at night under a full moon. The Canyon actually "glows!" Indeed , the more adventurous employees on such nights would  hike down into the Canyon without using flashlights/headlamps (Park Service does not recommend this, however).

 

Here is a time-exposure photo of the Grand Canyon in the moonlight:

 

     While at Yellowstone, a treat was to watch the geysers erupt at night. Here is Old Faithful Geyser, erupting with a full moon behind it:

      The last two winters while still RVing, Karen & I lived at Park of the Sierras. POS is located only 30 mi south of an entrance to Yosemite National Park. Here is a time-exposure of Yosemite from Valley View Overlook on a winter night:

El Capitan is at left center of the valley. The bright object at the top is Jupiter, which was putting on a show that night.

 

     Finally, I want to share this video I recently downloaded from "Astronomy Picture of the Day." (The APOD site is worth bookmarking, as I have done on my computer.)

 

     Because we are presently at the height of the 11-yr sunspot cycle, the Northern Lights are really spectacular these days. This time-exposure video has several views of the Aurora Borealis ("Northern Lights") over Norway...    Enjoy!

 

--Ed and Karen