Austin Dam Ruins - Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Austin Dam was a dam in the Austin, Pennsylvania area that served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill. A failure of the dam on September 30, 1911 caused significant destruction and loss of life in the valley below. The dam was rebuilt, but the new dam failed in 1942. The dam was not replaced after the second failure. In 1994 the Austin Dam Memorial Park Association was formed and they since have worked diligently to preserve the dam remains.

 

Austin Dam Ruins - Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 16,000, 15 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Green airglow is visible on this photo. 

Green Sky and Red Milky Way - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 10,000, 25 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Austin Dam Ruins map

Watching the sky, Observing meteors, Making wishes - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

Cherry Springs State Park is one of the darkest places on the entire U.S. East Coast, making it perfect for meteor watching and night-sky photography. During this calm and crystal-clear night, we observed several meteors streaking across the sky. Even the faint ones were easy to see thanks to the park’s exceptional Bortle 2 skies.

Here is a close-up view of one of the meteors captured that night:

Meteor over Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

This meteor appears to be a random sporadic meteor, not part of a major shower — a reminder that even on quiet nights the sky always has surprises.

Here is the full wide-angle image from the same moment:

Watching the sky, Observing meteors, Making wishes - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

Camera setup:
Canon EOS Ra – ISO 10,000 – 15 sec exposure
Lens: Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM – f/2.8

Nights like this, sitting under one of the darkest skies in America, always feel magical. A few meteors… a few wishes… and a perfect quiet night at Cherry Springs.

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