Incredible Timelapse: 7,000 Miles of Clear Skies

By Nancy Atkinson - June 23, 2014 at 11:49 AM UTC | Observing
20140531233830-26aa7803.jpg

Wow!

This video brought tears to my eyes because of its sheer beauty. Our friend and frequent astrophoto contributor César Cantu fulfilled a lifelong dream this past month of taking a trip through the southwestern of the United States, to "see and feel the shocking nature reflected in the Grand Canyon, in the Arches National Park and in the terrible atmosphere of Death Valley," he told us via email.

Although César produced this video entirely on his own, the US Park Service and the states in the US Southwest couldn't have a better promotional video! It is simply stunning, showing both the splendid landscapes during the day and the magnificent starscapes at night.

He drove from his native Mexico to the US Southwest, carrying several cameras to capture multiples landscapes, "to show different characteristics from the nature of our planet."

"I drove just over 7,000 miles in 32 days and I visited all these extraordinary places," César said. "I believe that nature, humanity and society, have found support and positive, creative, respectful and viable response from the National Park Service of the United States of America."

Make sure you see the night sky footage starting at about :50 -- it's amazing! And the video César took while driving down a desert road is really fun to "ride along."

[caption id="attachment_112765" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

The Milky Way over Saguaro National Park on June 17, 2014. Credit and copyright: César Cantu. [/caption]

"I must say that the trip was so exciting, and I am already planning another for next summer!" he added.

We can't wait to see more of his travel pics!

You can see more images from César's "dream" trip

at his website.

Thanks once again to César Cantu for sharing his work with Universe Today!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com