Utah's Dark Sky Country

The areas around Utah's Big 5 National Parks are Dark Sky Country which means they have minimal light pollution and that allows you to get much better views of the night sky. When we were down by Big Bend National Park, TX, we were also in Dark Sky Country but it was the wrong time of the year to see the Milky Way in its full glory. At night, we were facing outwards from the galactic center. Now, the Milky Way's galactic center is visible in the late night or early morning.

I got up at 4 AM to see how well it showed up. I was disappointed with what my eyes could see, just a cloud-like smudge across the sky nearly overhead but the iPhone camera collected for 3 seconds and pulled it out much better. I'll have to try a longer exposure and my DSLR next. Also, some pics of our campground after dusk with just a tiny sliver of moon visible and some Earth shine visible. The camera just wouldn't capture it well though. Lots more work needed on my photography skills!