Stargazing in the Canadian Rockies - A Night Sky Timelapse
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I recently visited Jasper National Park, one of the worlds largest dark sky preserves, during their 3rd annual Night Sky Festival. I was lucky enough to have two clear nights to explore and shoot as many photos as possible to create a short timelapse while there.
During the day, I took a bit of time to check out the awesome events planned for the festival, which included presentations from Discovery Channel’s Jay Ingram, astronomer David Levy, science journalist Peter Mcmahon, and the great Northern lights photographer Yuichi Takasaka. In addition to the presentations, there were also sky gazing events and a beautiful night orientated art showing. Truly a unique and exciting experience.
After checking out as much of the festival as I could, I scouted locations during the day and then made my way out between 5-6pm to get to the first place of my list before it was dark. I stayed out shooting and moving from location to location each night until just before sunrise. The weather didn’t cooperate for my third night, but In the end, I took over 2,000 photos at locations such as Lake Annette, Athabasca Glacier, Pyramid Lake, and many others.
Out of all the places I’ve traveled in search for dark skies, Jasper definitely offered some of the best views I’ve ever seen. The sky in the Columbia Icefield area was unlike any I had witnessed before. Thanks to Yuichi and Peter for taking me there! Although my visit was brief, I really felt a connection to the park and the festival. It was great to be around so many people that were excited about astronomy and preserving the night sky. The festival in 2014 already has Chris Hadfield lined up as a guest, so they’re definitely moving forward full force and they’ve definitely got me excited to go back!
I hope you enjoy the timelapse and maybe even decide to plan a trip to see it all for yourself.
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