National Parks Night Sky Photography

Many of these photos are included in my book Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks, on sale now and available in many park giftshops beginning summer 2010.

Acadia National Park Located along the gulf of Maine on Mount Desert Island, Acadia National Park is one of the darkest easily accessible locations along the east coast. For a dark starry sky east of the Mississippi River, there is no better than Acadia National Park.	Acadia National Park The Park Loop Road along Acadia's coast is perhaps the darkest place within this eastern national park. In summer and fall the Milky Way is a common sight rising out of the ocean.	Big Bend National Park Down in west Texas along the Rio Grande, Big Bend is arguably the darkest park in the continental United States. Standing alone south of the Chisos Mountains, there is not a single sign to the naked-eye of any light to compete with that of the stars overhead.
Bryce Canyon National Park Each year the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival brings stargazers from all over the world to this wonderful starry sky park in central Utah. Astronomical activities for all ages take place night and day.	Canyonlands National Park Adventurers to Canyonlands National Park come to get lost within the maze of canyons, mesas and buttes by day. At night another wilderness is revealed overhead. Come here to get pleasantly lost in both.	Chaco Culture National Historical Park Astronomers have inhabited this canyon for over a thousand years. An awerness of the night sky is recorded in rock art and building alignments throughout this isolated canyon. Chaco hosts the only privately donated permanent observatory in any national park. Come see the sky the way our ancestors did.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park The motion of the Moon and Sun was important to ancient peoples. Here in Chaco you can see the motion of these bodies against the landscape the way they've been seen for over a thousand years.	Glacier National Park Make the hike into Granite Park Chalet inside Glacier National Park. Those standing here along the Continental Divide, "The Backbone of the Continent" can gaze overhead at the band of the Milky Way, "The backbone of night."	Grand Canyon National Park Come see the night sky in the middle of magnificent natural night. From the Mather Point overlook the only light you can see is the faint light of Phantom Ranch nearly a mile below. Evening astronomy programs are one of the park's most popular and amateur clubs hold an astronomy star partyhere every summer.
Natural Bridges National Monument Deep in the heart of southern Utah's red rock and dark sky country, Natural Bridges was declared the world's first International Night Sky Park in 2007. Journey to a place where the brightest light in view is the heart of our own Galaxy.	Rocky Mountain National Park On clear moonless summer nights in Rocky Mountain National Park, astronoemrs and rangers treat crowds to stunning views of the evening sky. If you have a telescope, RMNP has several permanent piers set up and polar-aligned in popular picnic spots for your use.	Yellowstone National Park The full Moon rises through the Roosevelt Arch outside Gardiner, Montana, at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Mauna Loa, the largest shield volcano in the world and part of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, rises above the surrounding clouds beneath the stars of the southern Milky Way.	Arches National Park Arcs of stars set beneath double arches of stone within Arches National Park.	Arches National Park The Milky Way arcs over the sandstone arches of this red rock park within utah's dark-sky country.
Yosemite National Park Every year, all summer long, local astronomy clubs take turns treating visitors to views of the majestic Milky Way from high atop Yosemite's Glacier Point. Down below twinkle the lights of sleeping campers while overhead blazes the light of innumerable stars.	Yosemite National Park National parks like Yosemite that were formed to protect our views of the wildlife and landscape by day, also protect our views of the starry sky above. Half the park happens after dark; come to the parks this year and see the Milky Way.	See the Milky Way The national parks that protect our views of the wildlife and landscape by day, also protect our views of the starry sky above.