Yellowstone National Park is famous for its geysers and wildlife, but after sunset it becomes one of the most remarkable dark-sky locations in the United States. On this clear October night, I photographed the Milky Way rising above Old Faithful Geyser using a Canon 60Da. The mixture of starlight, geothermal steam, and the silence of the geyser basin created an unforgettable nightscape.
The green color near the horizon is natural airglow — a faint emission from the upper atmosphere — not light from the geyser. The combination of airglow, steam, and the bright Milky Way core created an almost surreal view of Yellowstone’s night sky.
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| Milky Way over Yellowstone National Park Old Faithful geyser Night Sky Landscape Astrophotography Canon 60Da |
Camera Equipment and Settings
- Camera: Canon 60Da (astrophotography edition)
- Lens: Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Exposure Time: 30 seconds
- ISO: 3200
- Focus: Manual, set on a bright star
- Technique: Single long exposure on tripod
A Missing Native American Legend
There are countless legends about the Milky Way across world cultures. Every civilization described it through metaphors, animals, and stories that reflected their own worldview. Since Yellowstone was sacred land for many Native American tribes — and since many tribal stories were not shared with outsiders — very few Yellowstone-specific Milky Way legends survive today.
Last year my daughter was learning about Native American traditions, and I asked her to create a “missing” Yellowstone legend — one that connects Old Faithful, nature, and the Milky Way.
Here is the legend she wrote:
The geyser, crow, corn, and the Milky Way
During fall the Native Americans were harvesting corn. One day a crow came, it wanted back some of the corn it gave to the Native Americans. It kept stealing the corn until the village made noise shakers and scared the crow away. While the crow was flying away holding corn in its beak, a geyser erupted and the corn kernels flew out of the crow’s beak. The crow chased it into the sky. From this day forward the corn kernels became the stars, and the dust has become the Milky Way.
Pretty much it is very close to what you see on picture above.
Interesting Scientific Note
Recently astronomers discovered enormous “galactic geysers” near the center of the Milky Way — giant outflows of gas rising thousands of light-years above the galactic core. In a way, this science echoes the legend: geyser-like eruptions shaping the appearance of our galaxy. Different level of understanding, same beautiful imagery.
There is supervolcano night sky video on youtube. A supereruption of Yellowstone volcano will affect all word. Nobody knows when it happens. Geyser eruptions show that the Yellowstone giant volcano is still active, it just sleeping under wide and starry sky.
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