The Milky Way was so readily visible to the naked eye
It’s been five years since I took this photo of the silhouette of an ocotillo against the starry night sky in Big Bend National Park. I have to say that despite taking astrophotography in several other parts of the country, nothing else compares to the true darkness that was available in Big Bend National Park. The Milky Way was so readily visible to the naked eye. In the middle of the night, you could step out of your tent and look up and see it. Even without my glasses on, I was able to make out the shape of the Milky Way.
Big Bend National Park makes up a portion of the largest Dark Sky Certified place in the world, the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve. This area spans over 15,000 square miles between Mexico and Texas. Many parks, communities, groups, and protected lands are banded together within this reserve to help protect the night sky.
Did you know?
- Ocotillo is native to the southwestern portion of the United States of America and northern Mexico.
- The scientific name for ocotillo is Fouquieria splendens.
- Big Bend National Park is 801,163 acres. This means that it is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
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