[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
Man: THE SENSE OF SCALE INVOLVED IN LOOKING IN THE SKY
IS ENORMOUS.
YOU REALIZE THAT WE LIVE ON A TINY SPACESHIP
THATâS ORBITING THIS AVERAGE STAR
IN A GALAXY FULL OF 200 BILLION STARS.
Second man: I THINK WHEN PEOPLE COME UP FROM THE CITIES,
OFTEN ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I HEAR IS,
"OH, MY GOD! I CANâT BELIEVE HOW MANY STARS THERE ARE."
AND ITâS TRUE. THEREâS AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF STARS.
AND WHEN YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE IN THE CITIES, IN THE SUBURBS,
AND PLACES SURROUNDED BY LIGHTS,
YOU DONâT REALLY GET TO APPRECIATE
HOW PROFOUND AND MAGNIFICENT THE NIGHT SKY IS.
Woman: AND WE THINK PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS NIGHT SKY
FROM THIS PLACE
FOR MAYBE 8,000 OR 9,000 YEARS.
FOR ME, I JUST FEEL THAT KINSHIP WITH PEOPLE ACROSS TIME,
THE PEOPLE IâM STANDING HERE WITH PRESENTLY
AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
First man: THIS IS STARS OVER YOSEMITE,
THE GLACIER POINT STAR PARTY.
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE COUNTRY
TO OBSERVE THE NIGHT SKY BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT ONLY DARK SKIES
BECAUSE WEâRE WELL AWAY FROM THE CITY LIGHTS,
BUT WE ALSO HAVE STEADY SKIES.
ITâS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THE NATURE OF BEING HERE
AT 7,200 FEET.
IâVE HAD PROBABLY MORE GOOD NIGHTS AT GLACIER POINT
THAN PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE ELSE.
SO MANY KIDS ARE GROWING UP IN URBAN SETTINGS
AND EVEN SUBURBAN SETTINGS
THAT THE LIGHT POLLUTION IS
SO INTENSE.
UNTIL YOU LEAVE THAT SETTING AND GO OUT TO A PLACE
WHERE THERE IS A DARK NIGHT SKY,
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUâRE MISSING.
Fourth man: A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITIES
HAVENâT EVEN SEEN THE MILKY WAY.
AND SO MOST PEOPLE DONâT EVEN KNOW THAT ITâS THERE
BECAUSE--THE SKY IS MAINLY THE COLOR OF THE STREET LIGHTS
OF THEIR CITY.
WHEN PEOPLE COME OUT HERE, THEYâRE JUST AMAZED
AT WHAT THEY CAN SEE.
AND ONCE YOU GET DARK-ADAPTED, THEN YOU--ACTUALLY CAN SEE
YOUR SHADOW OUT HERE FROM THE LIGHT OF THE MILKY WAY.
ITâS THAT DARK.
Woman: ONE OF THE REASONS THAT ASTRONOMERS LIKE TO COME HERE
AND DO THESE PUBLIC PROGRAMS IS WE LOVE TO SHARE WHAT WE KNOW.
WE LOVE TO TAKE OUR REALLY COOL EQUIPMENT
AND SHARE VIEWS THAT WE SEE ALL THE TIME
WITH PEOPLE WHO NEVER GET A CHANCE TO SEE THIS.
OH, WOW.
Al Howard: THE BIG OVAL SHAPE,
THATâS THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY.
THEREâS ABOUT 600 BILLION STARS THERE.
THEREâS MORE STARS IN THAT GALAXY
THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THE EARTH
BY A FACTOR OF A HUNDRED.
Jane Jones: THIS IS CALLED THE RING NEBULA.
THE STAR BLEW OUT A LOT OF ITS GAS
INTO THIS BIG RING OF GAS.
Woman: THIS IS SO COOL.
Morris Jones: RIGHT NOW IâM LOOKING AT M51,
WHICH IS A GALAXY.
Second woman: OK.
ITâS ABOUT 25 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY.
SO THEREâS A GOOD
200 BILLION OR 300 BILLION STARS IN THAT GALAXY.
WOW.
AND FIGURE THEREâS PROBABLY A DOZEN PLANETS
AROUND EACH STAR.
SO YOUâRE PROBABLY LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE
OF 30 BILLION PLANETS AS WELL.
WOW.
Kid: WHY DO YOU FIND ALL THIS INTERESTING?
Al: WHY? YEAH.
I FIND IT FASCINATING JUST TO BE ABLE TO LEARN
ABOUT THE UNIVERSE,
WHAT IS OUT THERE IN THE UNIVERSE.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Man, voice-over: SO IâVE COME UP HERE TO POTHOLE DOME
UP IN THE TUOLUMNE MEADOWS REGION OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
BECAUSE I WANT TO SHOOT SOME TIME-LAPSE TONIGHT.
YOU KNOW, IâM SHOOTING THIS FOOTAGE
BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT IâM PASSIONATE ABOUT.
I LOVE BEING ABLE TO SHOW THE BEAUTY OF YOSEMITE
AND ESPECIALLY TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT
THROUGH THE NIGHTTIME SKIES.
AND IâM REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE IâVE JUST RECENTLY BEEN ABLE
TO START DOING LONGER DOLLY MOVES.
SO IâM GOING TO GO FOR A 12-FOOT MOVE TONIGHT.
AND THE MOONâS GOING TO COME UP ABOUT HALFWAY DURING THE MOVE,
WHICH IS GOING TO GIVE A REALLY COOL EFFECT.
AND SO WHEN THE MOON HITS, YOU KNOW, IT WILL LIGHT UP
THE SCENE REALLY NICELY.
AND YET BEFORE IT HITS, WEâLL ALSO BE ABLE TO GET TO SEE
THE STARS IN ALL THEIR GLORY IN THE MILKY WAY.
SO COMING TO A PLACE LIKE YOSEMITE,
IT GIVES YOU AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME TO BE ABLE
TO LOOK UP AT THE STARS AND REALIZE HOW SMALL WE REALLY ARE
IN THIS ULTIMATE UNIVERSE THAT WE LIVE IN.
Lisa Murphy: IN THE NATIONAL PARKS,
WE REALLY VALUE THIS DARK NIGHT SKY EXPERIENCE.
SO WEâRE ACTUALLY QUANTIFYING IT.
WE HAVE A DARK NIGHT SKY TEAM LOOKING AT
WHAT THE SKIES LOOK LIKE IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS,
STARTED TAKING DIGITAL IMAGERY OF THE HORIZONS
TO SEE WHAT THE LIGHT POLLUTION LEVELS WERE
TO KNOW IF OUR DARK NIGHT SKY EXPERIENCE IS
IMPROVING OR DECREASING,
AND THEREBY BE ABLE TO TAKE MEASURES
WITH NEARBY COMMUNITIES TO HELP PRESERVE
THAT NIGHT SKY EXPERIENCE.
LIGHT POLLUTION IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CHANGE OVERNIGHT.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE BULB THAT YOU PUT IN YOUR OUTDOOR LIGHT.
YOU CAN PUT A COVERING ON IT SO IT FOCUSES
JUST WHERE YOU WANT THE LIGHT
INSTEAD OF PUTTING THAT LIGHT OUT
THAT WEâRE SEEING AS LIGHT POLLUTION.
Morris Jones: FEAR OF THE DARK IS A VERY POWERFUL THING.
AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO LOVE THE DARK, WE HOPE TO CONVINCE
OTHER PEOPLE THAT THE DARK
DOESNâT HAVE TO BE QUITE SO SCARY,
AND THAT WE CAN RECOVER A LOT OF THE NIGHT SKY THAT WEâVE LOST.
ITâS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF YOSEMITE,
AND IT DESERVES TO BE PART OF WHATâS PROTECTED IN THIS PARK.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]