Photos by Jane Cappe –
There’s an ancient Native American legend of dubious history about a Great Spirit which allegedly made the world and gathered the morning stars together on the shores of a quiet, silver lake bordered with blue mountains, the most beautiful place on Earth.
Hovering above the quiet waters and lighting the mountain tops with their robes of fire, the stars sang their songs of joy and pledged to gather here every thousand years.
One time when the stars were singing, there came a mighty crashing! A great rock in the mountain wall tore asunder, and through the deep opening the lake waters began to pour out and rush to the sea.
As time passed, the stars looked over the earth for another place to meet. They finally agreed upon a lovely valley through which a winding river ran.
Suddenly the stars realized that this valley had been the bed of their beautiful lake, and the blue mountains around it were the same ones upon which they had cast their robes of light in ages past.
The stars were so joyous they placed the brightest jewels from their crowns in the river where they still lie and sparkle. And ever since that day, the river and its valley have been called “Shenandoah, Daughter of the Stars.”
I don’t know about all that, but I ran into a camper the other night who was staying up all night taking photos of the Milky Way galaxy, and she agreed to let us publish them here. Enjoy.
Photographer’s Note
I get a lot of questions about these shots, so here is the information.
I use a program called Stellarium to tell me when the Milky way will appear in night sky on a given date. I know it moves from South to Southwest over the course of the night. In this case, I took pictures from 10 p.m. until just after 4:30 when the sky started to lighten. I drove from Big Meadows, where I started, south to Loft Mountain.
It was so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, and I was nervous about the bears, so I left my truck running to frighten them. (I didn’t see any bears, but I did see a lot of deer). The two bright stars in some of the pictures (in the picnic area, for example), are Venus (lowest) and Jupiter.
I belong to the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, and serendiptiously ran into a new member looking for a place to set up his telescope that night. As it turns out, he lives 4 miles away from me.
I learn something new each time I shoot pictures — I never get tired of taking shots of the night sky. That particular night I saw the star constellation “Libra” for the first time ever, and now I know why it is portrayed as the zodiac sign.
My shots were taken with a Canon 60Da and a long exposure. Many people want to take these with cell phones. I’m working with my cell phone (galaxy s5 and a $4 application) to see if that can be done. I think it can be done, as many cell phones have excellent cameras. My point is you don’t need a high priced camera and a lens. Many basic DSLRs will work. You need to be able to set an exposure time, and an ISO, on a tripod.
With your eyes, you can’t see quite the detail in these shots the pictures have, but the basic picture is intact. I use Photoshop Elements to adjust the clarity, the exposure, and the contrast to bring out the color and the detail. The camera sees everything –the program just brings out the details. What the eyes can see is the gray band of the Milky way, stretching from the brightest area in the South to the North.
Before you continue, I’d like to ask if you could support our independent journalism as we head into one of the most critical news periods of our time in 2024.
The New American Journal is deeply dedicated to uncovering the escalating threats to our democracy and holding those in power accountable. With a turbulent presidential race and the possibility of an even more extreme Trump presidency on the horizon, the need for independent, credible journalism that emphasizes the importance of the upcoming election for our nation and planet has never been greater.
However, a small group of billionaire owners control a significant portion of the information that reaches the public. We are different. We don’t have a billionaire owner or shareholders. Our journalism is created to serve the public interest, not to generate profit. Unlike much of the U.S. media, which often falls into the trap of false equivalence in the name of neutrality, we strive to highlight the lies of powerful individuals and institutions, showing how misinformation and demagoguery can harm democracy.
Our journalists provide context, investigate, and bring to light the critical stories of our time, from election integrity threats to the worsening climate crisis and complex international conflicts. As a news organization with a strong voice, we offer a unique, outsider perspective that is often missing in American media.
Thanks to our unique reader-supported model, you can access the New American journal without encountering a paywall. This is possible because of readers like you. Your support keeps us independent, free from external influences, and accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for news.
Please help if you can.
American journalists need your help more than ever as forces amass against the free press and democracy itself. We must not let the crypto-fascists and the AI bots take over.
See the latest GoFundMe campaign here or click on this image.
Don't forget to listen to the new song and video.
Just because we are not featured on cable TV news talk shows, or TikTok videos, does not mean we are not getting out there in search engines and social media sites. We consistently get over a million hits a month.
Click to Advertise Here
Awesome shots!!