Joshua Tree – Astrophotography (Milky Way and Perseid Meteor Shower)

Inspiration and Fulfilling Goals

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile may remember that I got my first mirrorless camera in January of this year, after I defended my dissertation. Astrophotography has been a goal since I saw the Milky Way for the first time at Joshua Tree. I’ll never forget that experience. Minhan and I were visiting Joshua Tree for the first time, and went to Keys View for the sunset. There were a bunch of other people there, and it was really windy. So windy that my cheap $10 tripod holding my phone couldn’t keep steady!

After awhile, and some failed shots, I gave up and just enjoyed the the stars. Not going to lie, I got the feels. It was such a clear winter night that the stars were sparkly pinpoints in the sky. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of stars and felt the world shrink around us. I saw some faint star clusters and galaxies, and stars were twinkling all over. We stayed at Keys View longer than everyone else, and felt serenity as we were alone with our thoughts and the beautiful night sky surrounding us.

Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to do astrophotography. I bought a telescope with a camera mount. I bought a lens specifically for astrophotography (a Rokinon 12mm F2.0 NCS CS lens). Also, I bought a pretty sturdy tripod for long exposure shots. However, every single time I would go out to do astrophotography, something would set me back. Either the sky was too cloudy, it was way too hot, there were a bunch of planes in the air, the sun set too late (thank you Salt Lake City!), I got too tired – the list goes on. But a bit of luck came our way last weekend, even with the Trabuco Canyon fire blowing smoke towards Joshua Tree.

Dark Skies in Joshua Tree

Last weekend was the Perseid meteor shower! I was super excited because we planned this trip and there are super dark skies in the park. To give you an idea, here is the dark sky map for the area:

However, with the Holy Fire in Trabuco Canyon flaring up, I thought my chance at astrophotography would again be ruined. It was a little hazy, but I was really excited that we were actually still able to see the stars! We went to Sky’s the Limit Observatory and there were hundreds of people. Some brought telescopes, some gave sky tours, and others taught us about the night sky. Afterwards, we drove out to Keys View to see the stars. We ended the night at the Cholla Cactus Garden to watch the meteor shower since there are darker skies there.

Disclaimer: this is my first real foray into astrophotography, so maybe my technique isn’t the best. However, I’m always open to additional tips and resources! I’ve referenced many videos and articles, and this is the first time that I actually put those theories to practice.

Keys View (Milky Way)

In the early nighttime, we drove out to Keys View and saw the city in the distance. We could just make out the Milky Way above the city, which would make for a great composition. Mars was super bright in the sky that evening, and I tried to keep it in the frame. Because of the city glow, I took two separate shots and composited the final image using Lightroom and Photoshop. The Milky Way doesn’t stand out as much as I wanted. Next time I go I’ll try to stack more images, reduce the ISO, and maybe lengthen the shutter speed. There are also some light-pollution filters that I might try out there as well.

For the next image, we were driving away from Keys View and stopped at a dark turnout. I set up the tripod and aimed at the Milky Way and saw a few Joshua trees in the foreground. Being at Joshua Tree, I figured that I should try and get some shots with actual Joshua trees. The bright light on the left is a car that was coming down the road.

Keys View (Star Trails)

I’ve been playing around with my camera’s Live Composite mode. The goal of this mode is to build a composite image in-camera, and in real time. I inputted settings for shutter speed and time between shots and just let the camera build the composite for me.

I’ve seen many photographs of star trails, and wanted to try my hand at making one. We pulled over and walked ~10 meters into the desert, facing Polaris, with a Joshua tree in the foreground. After inputting my settings, I just let the camera do its thing. But that’s when things got interesting. Minhan and I were waiting next to the camera, and we heard howling in the distance, to our right. No biggie, right? But then, we heard a howling answer on our left, and it sounded much closer. It was pitch black outside and I couldn’t see more than maybe a meter in every direction. I was getting quite anxious.

Then, we heard a branch snap right next to us and I freaked out. All I had on me was a red flashlight and I started shining it everywhere, but couldn’t see anything. The howling had stopped, and we felt really alone. There was something really eerie about the silence. So we made a beeline to the car, leaving the camera out to continue building the composite image. We stayed in the car, and my eyes were locked on the camera’s LCD screen. I figured that if something ran by and snagged the shoulder strap, I’d just see my camera fly out into the distance and that’d be the end of it.

After about 20min, I got too scared to continue and came up with a plan. Minhan was going to start the engine and turn on the headlights. Meanwhile, I was going to run out, get the camera, and run back as fast as possible. Hopefully without ruining the shot and hopefully with nothing chasing me.

That’s why the star trails in the following image aren’t that extensive – but I tried my best given the circumstances! I shot the foreground and composited the final image in Photoshop. The red lines you see are airplanes flying overhead. It’s hard to get a long exposure shot at Joshua Tree without having airplanes in sight. I love how you can see the different colors of stars as they trail in the photo. I have plans to go back out to Joshua Tree during the winter to get a better shot. The earlier sunset will allow me several hours to see if I can get some better trails. I also want to get a better foreground picture. I’m pretty sure that light painting will result in a better image compared to just taking an 8-second high-ISO shot.

Cholla Cactus Garden (Milky Way and Perseids)

We spent the rest of our night at the Cholla Cactus Garden. The parking lot was packed! A lot of people had already set up chairs and were waiting for the meteor shower. Luckily, we got a parking spot. Also, everyone seemed to be staying pretty close to their cars. Thus, we were able to walk (carefully) through the cactus garden to set up away from the flashlights and crowds.

This next image is one of my favorites from the night. I stacked 19 images and processed the resulting composite in Lightroom, reducing the noise and bringing out the Milky Way. Of course, I wanted to keep Mars in the frame as well. A few cars were entering and exiting the parking lot. Luckily, we were far enough away to not experience the full power of their headlights. However, the lights did pass in front of my lens and gave some ambient light painting in the foreground. Just enough to make out some brush and a cholla cactus. I think the core of the Milky way really stands out in this shot.

This next image was a bit of a fluke. However, I really like how the Milky Way turned out and decided to keep it. I tried light painting the cholla in the foreground, but couldn’t find the power button on my flashlight fast enough to turn it off quickly. The result is a brighter cholla, which I was not intending. In hindsight, I probably should have shot a separate image with the foreground in focus. That would have given a cleaner final image. Maybe next time! But for a single exposure, I think the way the Milky Way turned out was pretty decent. However, because it was a single exposure, there was more noise in the stars. This is why there is more grain in this photograph compared to the previous one.

Like the above image, the one below was also a single exposure, and hence more grainy. However, I did manage to capture a Perseid meteor in this shot! I shot this frame for about 50min before a meteor finally entered the frame, right at the Milky Way core. Although I tried to reduce the light pollution in the lower right in post-processing, I couldn’t completely eliminate it. I wish it was cleaner, but for my first one with a meteor and the Milky Way, it’ll do. I’ll have to practice a bit more and try next year!

I’m officially addicted to astrophotography! #milkywaychasers

A Bit of History of Sky’s the Limit

Since I’ve done quite a few posts on the history of Joshua Tree, this time I’m going to focus on Sky’s the Limit. The idea to build an observatory came from resident Jerri Hagman. She had a Homestead and visitors would comment on really seeing the night sky for the first time. Jerri met fellow resident Jerry Mattos, who was on the board of Basin Wide Foundation, who eventually provided the down payment for the property. A NASA astronomer helped identify an appropriate location for the observatory, which only has Joshua Tree National Park to the south. This ensured that nothing would be built to impede sky watching in the area. Hence, Sky’s the Limit was born as a nonprofit organization completely run by volunteers. It officially opened on September 30th, 2007.

The observatory currently occupies 14.5 acres. With this in place, the committee published its mission statement: “SKY’S THE LIMIT is dedicated to facilitating hands-on experience for learning about the desert, earth, and sky.”. The observatory also provides space for amateur astronomers to bring out their equipment to learn from others and view the night sky. For most of the year, they also provide sky-watching events every other week.

I’ve been to a few of these and have absolutely loved the experience! Volunteers are very knowledgeable and patient. I could ask them questions about my own telescope, and about the night sky as well. Pro tip: if you go there, or anywhere to observe the night sky, PLEASE bring a red flashlight with you. Red light is easier on the eyes at night and your fellow sky-watchers will appreciate it. An easy way to make one is to use red nail polish over the glass of a handheld flashlight!

Sky’s the Limit relies heavily on donations to thrive. For example, it is completely off the grid thanks to donations of solar panels by Wonder Electric and Eli Marshal and installed by Jeff Arwick. Donations have also led to the construction of two small buildings: a welcome center/gift shop and a workshop building. Other donations resulted in ADA-accessible walkways and spots for amateur astronomers to set up telescopes. Sky’s the Limit received a grant from the San Bernardino County to build restrooms onsite, which has allowed for educational programs for people of all ages to take place.

They do accept individual donations, so if you’d like to donate, feel free to check them out!

As usual, comments, conversations, feedback, and messages are always welcome!

References

“A Brief History of Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center”. Ann Congdon, Sky’s the Limit Observatory and Nature Center. Retrieved August 19th, 2018.