Stargazing and Night Photography at Joshua Tree

Last Friday night, my mom, dad and I went to Joshua Tree for a night of stargazing and night photography. We were wanting to catch some shooting stars during the Perseid Meteor shower and we settled at Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park for our viewing point.

The conditions weren’t very favorable for a stargazing night. The moon was three-quarters full so it would’ve been very difficult to see any of the fainter meteors. Photographing the galactic center of the Milky Way was also challenging since it was in the same direction as the moon.

Still, we were able to see a couple bright meteors during the night and we got a couple interesting shots (although none with a meteor in them!). With the help of my dad, I got a few shots with my Maglite pointing into the sky. There are a lot of these images out there but I had to get a few of my own!

We will be looking at a couple locations for astrophotography during the next full moon, which falls on September 1st. Let us know if you have any good spots to suggest!

 

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