yosemite skies

Earlier this week we had a short couple of nights stay near Yosemite National Park for some hiking and family time.  We stayed at the Yosemite View Lodge which is on the south end of the park, a couple miles outside the park boundary.  I stepped outside after everyone went to bed one night to have a quick look at the sky.

The hotel unfortunately had a lot of lights, both streetlights and lights from the rooms, so while standing near the buildings I could only make out the same stars I would see from my back yard.  I walked to the north end of the grounds where there was a field blocked by a chain link fence.  I found my way around the fence; just getting out from under the streetlights improved the view.  There was a shed further in the field and once I stood in its shadow the sky simply exploded with stars.  It was such a dramatic change I could hardly believe it.

Orion shown like a giant open cluster.  Dark nebulae were apparent in its middle and above the head. M31 was naked eye overhead, and the dark nebulae above Cygnus were still visible, though the sky to the west was poorer with a light dome from Mariposa.

I had my 2.1x42 Vixens, and studied Orion.  Barnard's Loop was a thick dark arc, but did not show any bright nebulosity -- I regretted not bringing any filters.  The dark nebulae were most striking, especially above Orion's head.  And the profusion of stars along the shield.  Dark nebulae in Taurus, and the Pleiades like a wreath in surrounding darkness.  I fit M31 and M33 in the same field, M33 a misty small fat oval to the very large M31.  The double cluster was a bright knot in the stream of stars.

I did not regret having a larger telescope; the seeing was very bad with a lot of stars flickering and a wind coming through the canyon where the hotel is located.  And I was tired from the day's adventures.  I was quite content with the binoculars, and the astonishing reminder of what a truly dark sky can offer.