Willis Greiner Photography -- Astrophotography

"Rambling Through the Night Sky"

Happens every morning. Still dark -- very dark -- after all, I'm miles from nowhere, lying around in the dust and sand, on the plateau above Barrier Canyon. I'm cold and awake, and ready for my early morning trip to the facilities. Luckily, they're only two or three steps from my sleeping bag -- maybe a new plantling will be the benefactor of my modest offering.

Not all that long ago, a majority of the Earth's human population slept under the stars for at least part of the year. Most of the inhabitants' spiritual acts had some connection with the sky, and humans were dutifully in awe of the heavens . . . Astronomy and Cosmology were the first sciences, and continue to challenge the human psyche to this day. Within their disciplines we may find a reason for our existence.

As I peek from the warm confines of my bag, I spot the oddest thing. Wiping dew from my glasses, I rub my tired eyes, blink and still see the same phenomena. It's a bright, beautiful, almost phosphorescent band of light -- parallel to the horizon and at 90 degrees to the Milky Way; which is at full splendor. The strange band is as bright as the Milky Way, even on this very transparent morning. From the constellations' locations, I decide it must be about 3 A.M. (I don't have a watch.) I'm proud to be able to estimate the local time from the constellations' locations; in fact, I quite like sleeping under the stars. I should do it more often, but local custom suggests that sleeping outside of a modern dwelling is behavior unacceptable for a grown man. Nevertheless, I have slept out hundreds of times. I still vividly remember the darkest skies. Craters of the Moon and Paradise Ranger Station in Idaho, Guadeloupe National Park in New Mexico and right here in Canyonlands; all of these spots have exhibited memorable nights.

Not all that long ago, a majority of the Earth's human population slept under the stars for at least part of the year. Most of the inhabitants' spiritual acts had some connection with the sky, and humans were dutifully in awe of the heavens . . . Astronomy and Cosmology were the first sciences and continue to challenge the human psyche to this day. Within their disciplines we may find a reason for our existence.

(Click on the image link above to move to Willis Greiner's and Cheryl Price's web site of hand painted black and white photography -- photofantasia.com.)

Now, as we move along with the new technology, we have lost much of our dark sky to artificial light and air pollution. I wonder what else we may have involuntarily surrendered. The sighting of a comet or meteor, the experience of an eclipse, even a simple view of the Milky Way; all of these things are now "events," not normal, natural everyday occurrences. Quite a large percentage of the people alive today have not even really seen a dark night sky. Huge urban populations will go through their entire lives never even glimpsing the nighttime rendering of our own home galaxy.

"So what," one might ask. Maybe, just maybe, such a loss can be quantified, can be measured in our collective confused, depressive, psycho-mumbo egomaniacal behavior that characterizes so many modern events. Maybe some of the source of what it is to be human has been forgotten in all of the technology, man-made light and air pollution.

As I peek out from my bag, it occurs to me finally that this pearlescent ray is simply the Zodiacal Light, a phenomena described in any freshman Astronomy text. I had never seen it until today.