The Starry Skies Of Less-Polluted Places
By Joao Santos =
My name is Joo P. Santos, Im 21-years-old Portuguese photographer. Over the past few years I have specialized in landscape photography. A relatively new concept that aims to join heaven and earth elements, valuing the architectural heritage, culture and landscapes, as well as, enhancing in educational and scientific way, the Universe! It is full of stars, but nowadays, it stays unnoticed to the most people.
I try to show how beautiful is the sky seen at night, especially in the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve. This project is the combination of several photographs taken in recent months, all in Alentejo, a region in the south of Portugal, which is the best place to cherish this evening show.
Alqueva, in Portugal, is the first site in the world to be certified by the Starlight Foundation as a Starlight Tourism Destination.
Starlight destinations are places which have very low light pollution where visitors can enjoy unique and unparalleled opportunities to view the night sky.
More info: Facebook | cargocollective.com
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Bight sky photography without pollution.
This gentleman has captured some are beaut for us
Enjoy
Very Nice!
What wonderful photographs RIO.
Great find.
The only time I have ever seen the Milky Way, that band of millions of stars, was Near Piney Campground, down at the bottom of Land Between the Lakes. It was breathtaking!
Every time I get a good place to go watch comets, or whatever, someone builds a brightly lit gas station, and that's it. I used to have a pretty good spot, about an hour outside of Louisville, but it's gone now...
These are great pictures! Everyone needs to see this at least once in their life.
Brolly
Glad you liked them - thanks for the feedback
Kavika
Gad you liked them
Clear skies away from the city sure make for much better photography
Another benefit of living in the country
Dowser
The night sky always seems a little brighter and more beautiful out here in the country than it did when I lived in the city
I am glad you liked the photos
Beautiful photography. The first time I experienced a night sky without light pollution was at Arches National Park, it was spectacular. You could hardly see your hand in front of your face but the sky was alive with light.
Lynne
Thanks for the feedback
Sounds like a great place for some relaxing star gazing!
Where I am located in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state, we have a really good view of the stars because large portions of the Park are designated "forever wild" in the state constitution. But you can still see the insidious creep of light from the people who cannot seem to understand that a light at night is more blinding than darkness.
Here is a link . Let me know if it doesn't work. Zoom out a bit and you will see that there just is not that much around.
We have a couple of nature preserves around here and there are large stretches on some pretty big lakes that are far from civilization that provide for good camp sites and a clear view of the starry skies.
Appreciate the feedback and the link
When we had a home in Fountain Hills, AZ., North-East of Phoenix, it was up in the hills far enough to where there was no light pollution from the city to interfere in the night sky. I can remember taking a brandy and my pipe out to the hot tub at about 3am and looking up at what seemed like an infinite number of stars. It reminded me of cold winter nights in North Dakota when you could drive out into the country and see the same (though the hot tub was nicer
), like when I was a kid living in the country. I've never seen that many stars since. I miss them.
In a big Chnese city, at the best of times you can see the veiled moon and perhaps, if you're lucky, a couple of planets shining through the pollution. In Toronto, there was still too much "light pollution" to see the sky in all its glory, although through a relatively cheap Tasco telescope on a clear night I could see Saturn's rings and 4 of Jupiter's moons. However, I had a cottage up north in Ontario where there was very little pollution, light or otherwise, and the sky was fairly glorious. Where I saw the sky the way this photographer did was over 40 years ago when at the middle of the night I and a few friends took a chance with local superstition and crossed the "Saddle Road" between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the big island of Hawaii. It became obvious to me why so many observatories are located there. It was a sight to behold that I will never forget.
Sometimes when I am feeling robust, I will go outside on the cold, moonless winter nights and hike into the woods. The snow on the ground reflects the bright starlight and gives everything an eerie super soft contrast...
Randy
Sounds like a very relaxing way to enjoy nature and the night sky
Thanks for the feedback
Bro
I enjoy hiking through the woods myself, but must admit it seldom happens in recent years during the night
Sounds like a peaceful and rewarding walk though
Buzz
Thanks for the feedback
I know a lot of stargazers that have lived in or visited Hawaii and they sing the praises of starwatching (among other things) there.