September 31

The Heavens Declare!

This past Friday evening while camping at the Tahquamenon Falls State Park at the River Mouth campground I experienced a spectacular sight which I am not sure I have even seen before. We joined a few other campers on the bank of the river at the edge of the campground looking up in utter amazement of the beauty and quantity of stars that could be seen. The Milky Way was bright and other stars were so bright that for the first time in my life I saw stars reflecting on the water in front of me. The sky looked like a photo from an astronomy magazine or the Hubble telescope. Words can verily if at all describe what we saw. The black sky was filled with blotches of light and color from the multitude of stars.

As I reflect on the sights of that evening I can only think of the verse, Psalms 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. What more could we say?

If you would like to experience the beauty and awe of the night sky: head north on a clear evening away from the city lights. The farther north you go the better and darker it can be. Emmet County has the Headlands Dark Sky Park just west of Mackinaw City. Any beach or open area away from lights in the UP, are great places as well. The less light the better.

I apologize that the quality of the 2 accompanying photos are not as sharp and grain free as I would like, I am still learning to shoot at night and trying to find the right speed for my camera.