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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 look back at some of the brighter comets in the past 10 years. None of them was a Great Comet that becomes stunningly extended in dark skies and easily visible to unaided eyes even from cities. The last two Great Comets was McNaught in 2007 (mainly southern hemisphere sky) and Hale-Bopp in 1997 (mainly northern sky). On average a Great Comet appears every decade land we are past due for another one in the next few years.

A brief look to The World at Night in Panorama, my recent talk in Chicago at the annual meeting of @americangeophysicalunion. It was exciting to create a new show for this 5:1 giant panoramic screen. Watch the complete one-hour talk on agu.org or on my YouTube channel, BabakTafreshi. Tap the link in bio.

The annual night sky photography webinar is on Saturday January 14 at 1 pm Eastern Time (6pm UT). To join tap the link in my bio or visit babaktafreshi.com/2023

Since September I’ve posted concise overviews on #WomanLifeFreedom uprising (find them on “Iran” highlighted story). The second largest country in the Middle East (7x the UK area), Iran is one of the world’s most resourceful lands in a superbly strategic position with about 1000 km shoreline of the Persian Gulf. It has been the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East. The clerical regime has turned this cradle of art and culture to an unbearable prison for its 88 million population. In 44 years of this dictatorship there has been hope for reform but every effort failed. The Islamic Republic is not reformable.

December 21st brings winter solstice traditions in the world. For Iranians and related cultures it marks Yalda Night, also known as Cheleh. Friends and families come together to break free the darkest time, the longest night, waiting for the sunrise, for the rebirth of hope. These words were never so meaningful as now, when millions of Iranians stand for their freedom, risking their lives against the Islamic Republic.

Pointing a green laser to three interesting objects in the Milky Way; a 6-second self-posed photograph taken in the Sierras.

Sunrise of hope. From a 2010 climb to Karkas mountains in central Iran. Since September I’ve posted on #FreeIran woman-led uprising. Despite extreme life risks, #IranProtests continue to find an end to 44 years of dictatorship that suppressed justice, honesty, dignity, art and culture, under the name of Islamic rules. This post features the songs that inspire the protestors. Some are available in full-length on the artists social pages and on music platforms.

This stunning @natgeo special edition, 100 Iconic Images From This Century, is recently published. I spent hours sharing the story of the images with our 6-year old child. He asked most questions on @jtkerby photo of a monkey giving birth in Ethiopia, @amivitale photo of panda sanctuary in China, Orsolya Haarberg photo of a tower in Copenhagen to reconnect with nature, @johnstanmeyer photo of African migrants under moonlight seeking cellphone signal, @jimmychin shot of @alexhonnold free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite, @paleyphoto image of a man and his child in a public bath in Afghanistan, and the iconic face transplant in Ohio by @ljohnphoto. He nervously kept asking where the new face came from and I had to change the subject by going to my image of the Milky Way Above Uluru, which was boring to him!

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