Stars, fishing, and remote wilderness.
The universe can be a humbling place. So countless are the stars in the night sky, that the concept that each one of them having it’s own solar system is unfathomable. Some scientists suggest as many as 700 million trillion planets exist in the known universe – that’s a bigger number than I can comprehend.
Canada, in its vastness, can also be humbling. Just a short drive from where I live in Winnipeg, the great wilderness of the Canadian Shield takes over this country’s geography. Civilization is sparse. Even 5 minutes into a pontoon flight from Kenora, you see the signs of humanity dwindle. No towns, no roads, no people. A group of friends have found a favorite lake in the area: one that you can only get to by plane, and if you rent out the cottage for the week, an entire set of lakes in the area is exclusive to you. Days are spent fishing, and if the sky is clear, you might end staying up late into the night watching the spectacle in the sky. Staring out at the limitless universe, from the vast wilderness…humbled.
Fantastic Wilderness: Fishing, Bird watching, Stargazing, and Campfires in the Canadian Shield.
The awesomeness that is our natural world is often lost on us. Noise pollution from our highways, our air conditioners, our radios, keep us from ever hearing the calm of nature. After dark, city lights blind us from the spectacle of the stars. I spend a lot of my travels visiting some of the largest cities on earth, because they are impressive triumphs of mankind filled with culture and stimulus for the senses. In the wilderness, a different kind of sensory overload. The saturated colors of the sky, and their metallic reflection in the water during a long northern sunset. The moment of absolute calm when you realize, if you stay quiet, the only thing you can hear is the breeze. These are some of the virtues of the wilderness you can’t get anywhere else.
With a group of friends, our second year back at Walleye Lake in Northern Ontario was again tremendously worthwhile. You can click here for the updated gallery with 30 new photographs from the Canadian wilderness, and see a few chosen shots below.
Light pollution and an attempt to capture 200 Billion stars.
At the very least, there are 200 billion stars in our galaxy we call the Milky Way.
Unfortunately, its an extremely rare event for somebody born today to actually get a truly good view of them. Even 10km outside Winnipeg (not even a major city by some standards!), the sky looks black, but light pollution is clearly hindering some of the dimmer stars to be visible. Leave a camera shutter open for a few minutes to capture the available light, and the orange city glow overpowers the glow from the stars above.
Here’s a neat link/map regarding light pollution in North America. LINK. Notice how if you’re from any urban area on the east coast, you’ve got little hope of ever catching a truly dark sky, even hundreds of miles from home.
The faint cloud-like glow from the galactic center would have been that much more brilliant without it having to compete with the city glow.
Click the images for a larger view.
Is that the sun? – No, that’s Winnipeg.
Serenity on Lake Winnipeg
2011 has given us the nicest prarie summer we’ve had in a few years. The days are so long and warm that the passage of time seems to have slown down, such a contrast from the dark and cold days of winter. Here are a few summer hues.
Dip your feet in.
What if I can't tell where the water meets the sky?
Gazing at the Galaxies