Death Valley Nights

There's nothing like a trip away from the city lights to remind you just how bad light pollution can be here in the Bay Area.

The Milky Way in the skies of Death Valley's
Devil's Racetrack. Credit: Dan Duriscoe, U.S. National
Park ServiceI just got back from my semi-yearly pilgrimage to my favorite spot on Earth: Death Valley National Park. My main reasons for returning to this place again and again have mostly to do with hiking in the stunning natural beauty of the place, reconnecting with good times in my childhood, and reflecting spiritually on life, the Universe, and everything.

But, I can't go to a place like that and not feel more connected with outer space. Not only is the night sky a celestial spectacle--but it's darned cold there too, this time of year! Cold, like space. Each turn of the Earth through its own shadow is like a quick dip in the icy pool of space….

After twilight had faded, after the campfire had burned to embers--and as the frigid cold of the desert winter night started seeping through my layers of clothing--I lay down on the picnic bench and raised my binoculars to my eyes...

...and that's all I had to do. Arcing overhead was the section of the Milky Way around the constellations Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda, Pegasus--a section of the sky rich in a variety of "deep sky" objects (objects typically only visible through binoculars or telescopes).

There was the Double Cluster in Perseus--a pair of "open" clusters of stars.

Open clusters are stars bound together gravitationally, still clinging to each other after their "group infancy" in the gaseous cloud that gave birth to them. Stars in these clusters are young--and because of their youth, open clusters often contain a number of large, bright, blue stars that shine brilliantly--but which have short life spans as stars go, being more prolific hydrogen-burners (gas guzzlers). (In a word, you can't find an old blue giant star.)

You can't avoid seeing open clusters in this region; the place is positively littered with them….

This is also where the famous Andromeda Galaxy can be found, in the constellation Andromeda (where else?). What's special about the Andromeda Galaxy? For one, it's the closest large galaxy to our own, as well as the most distant object in the Universe that can be seen with the unaided human eye (without telescopic help). Looking at the Andromeda is like looking through a peephole into the realm beyond our Milky Way…

I could go on and on yakking about what I got to see in the clear, dark Death Valley skies last week, so I'll have to stop myself now. Suffice to say that with a dark sky, a pair of binoculars, and a segment of the Milky Way in view, encountering the celestial wonders of the Universe in a very personal way is like shooting ducks in a barrel.

But don't let the light polluted skies of the Bay Area stop you from trying it from your own backyard; there's a lot to behold despite the city lights…

Benjamin Burress is a staff astronomer at The Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, CA.