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Babak Tafreshi | Photographer | Explorer | Speaker

National Geographic photojournalist, founder of The World at Night (TWAN), preserving natural night skies, bridging art & science

2020-06-13

Night Sky, Our Connection to the Universe

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A starry midnight of Sierra Nevada. The moon was rising behind me, shining on the mountains while the Milky Way was still visible in the sky of this high altitude lake. Look forward to return to dark skies next week for the Perseid Meteor Shower (Aug 12) and our annual California Nightscape workshop. Learn more on babaktafreshi.com/ca21 or tap the link my bio

Look forward to share my passion to the night sky with the participants at Maine Stargazing & Photography Retreat on Aug 28 - Sep 1, a program open to all enthusiasts at any level, a few hours drives north of Boston in a dark sky protected site. We have a number of guest speakers including world-known NatGeo & BBC wildlife photographer @timlaman and his son @russlaman who will share their truly inspiring stories. To learn more tap the link in my bio, or visit babaktafreshi.com/maine.

One planet, one family of humanity. A symbolic beautiful dream. This pandemic showed it is still far behind walls of inequality, abuse of power, tribal politics, and the mankind will to collect wealth.

After a long break we are restarting the Aurora PhotoTours in Iceland this September. After seeing one of these majestic displays you realize why cultures of the far north are so deeply connected to the mysterious lights.

A crystal clear night began with moonlight on Himalayas in the World Heritage Sagarmatha National Park of Nepal. It was November 2009 and I was documenting Nepal at night with my colleague @oshinzak for The World at Night project @twanight. After a long hopeless hike in the fog we reached this iconic vista at 3600 meters near Namche Bazar on the trail to Everest base camp, where we were standing above the clouds. Spectacular view of Himalayas emerged under stunningly starry sky. On the left stars of Auriga rise over Mt. Everest. Lhotse (the world's 4th highest at 8516 meters) is in the middle and the outstanding Ama Dablam (6812 m) is on the right, where the Pleiades star cluster is rising. A Buddhist stupa is also visible in the foreground. The light in the valley is from the Tengboche Monastery, a religious center for Sherpa community at about 4000 meters high. Sagarmatha is a Sanskrit word meaning the head in the sky. The national park’s highest point is 8848 m at the summit of Everest.

Every few years a bright comet appears in the Earth sky, a wandering body of ice from outer Solar System. Last July Comet NEOWISE became a true spectacle to the camera, in the northern hemisphere. Here, far from city lights at this lake near White Mountains in New Hampshire, the comet tail was visible to naked eye in evening twilight but fainter than what you see in this single-exposure photograph of 5 seconds through a telephoto lens. Swipe for a timelapse video of the scene.

Some of the most enjoyable nights in my life have been stargazing with people from all around the world. Sharing our interest to nature and outer universe and forgetting our concerns and daily life stress. It’s a unique experience and if you are around New England on Aug 28-Sep 1 join me in Maine Stargazing & Photography Retreat.

In a winter afternoon near Cedar Breaks National monument, the first quarter moon rises above cedar trees and striking rock formations in Blowhard Mountain, a popular hiking destination. The 3rd photo is behind-the-scene by my colleague and long-time friend @oshinzak. After a NatGeo project in Utah, I joined Oshin one a visit to some of the region’s landmarks. While on the road passing this impressive mountain I realized the moon will soon rise above it in daytime.

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