PHOTOS: Death Valley dark sky dazzles at annual spring festival
Wearing his signature flap hat, with his wife hoisting charts illustrating various points, Dr. Perry Ramsey, a thermal engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), paced the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes as he presented a talk to 100 people on why it’s so hot in Death Valley. Although, on this day the weather was perfect for this one of many lectures offered at the Dark Sky Festival that spanned last weekend.
Thousands of folks from around the world flock to this annual spring festival to attend astrophotography workshops, astronomy presentations, telescope viewings and guided desert hikes.
This year, throngs of people drove out to appreciate the beauty of the desert and admire the grandeur of the cosmos in one of the darkest locations of the United States during the darkest part of the year.
They came to hear experts offer insight at several Death Valley locations, including the Furnace Creek visitor center auditorium. Talks ranged from “Stardust All Around Us: Cosmic Origin Stories on Display in Death Valley” by Dr. Kathryn Plant, a Postdoctoral Program fellow at NASA, to “The Brightness of the Void” by Leslie Heid, NASA – JPL. There were even talks on the possibility of life on Mars, which opened the audience to the prospect of neigbors in our own galaxy.
Festival-goer Marie Teal from Colorado isn’t yet convinced aliens exist, saying, “I don’t think so.” However, her friend Leroy Goats countered with, “I think there is a probability that something’s out there. Yes. I do. And if so, I’m going to see them on this trip.”
Visitors Nancy, Barry, and their grandson Marcus took a break from the festivities to rest on the sand in the shade of a twisting tree.
Nancy gives thought to their long-awaited trip. “Marcus has been wanting to come here forever. They are so well set up at the star party. The cool thing about all these people with telescopes is they’re so genuinely into it, so enthusiastic and they want to share whatever they know. So, you don’t feel like you’re bothering somebody to ask, can I use your scope? It’s like ‘c’mere, let me show you’. We saw Jupiter with a 70mm scope, then you’re finished with that, and you walk over and somebody ‘says, c’mere, I got a 130mm.’”
Barry added, “Orion’s belt got a real workout last night.”
As nighttime descended, warm oranges melted into purple hues and finally dark indigos shaded the night sky. Soon after the sun set behind the mountains, stars, planets, nebulae and distant galaxies flared up from the firmament.
Park rangers stood in the dark illuminated by red collars and punctuated their talks with laser pointers. Children’s eyes grew wide with wonder as telescopes turned to the heavens. Kids like Marcus saw a rare glimpse of the infinite.
Some people pitched tents under the cosmic canopy, while others built campfires outside their RVs, which resembled twinkling stars. Ben Garza from Chicago was one attendee who slept under the stars. When asked about his motivation to attend the festival, Ben asserted, “You have to get out of the city sometimes. Spend enough time in the city and you’ll end up thinking the Milky Way isn’t anything other than a candy bar.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by UC Berkeley students, Jaime Alvarez and Leonard Harkins. They drove from Berkeley to San Jose, took a flight to Burbank, then drove to Death Valley Desert for this event. Leonard said, “I’ve always been interested in seeing the night sky when there’s very low light pollution. It’s truly amazing.”
The festivities wrapped up Sunday night with a talk by Leslie Heid at Zabriskie Point, below the ancient stars that mesmerized our ancestors. Los Angeles residents, Louis Carrio IV and Miah Laino laid on their backs, staring up at the shooting stars. An enthusiast asked, does looking at the stars empower you or make you feel insignificant? Louis replied, “A little bit of both. We’re just little dots in the universe that’s so big.” Miah agreed, “It’s mind-boggling if you sit and think about it.”
A ranger, who asked to remain anonymous, did think about it and quipped, “A photon goes to board a flight, and the clerk asks would you like to check any bags? The photon replies, “No, I’m traveling light.”
Like the energetic photon, if you missed it, pack your bags and head out to Death Valley for the next event.
Eric Coleman is a freelance reporter living in Pahrump whose political cartoons appear weekly in the Pahrump and Tonopah newspapers. Contact him at ericjamescoleman@gmail.com.
