Gavin Heffernan of Sunchaser Pictures and his team braved sub-freezing temperatures in Death Valley National Park to bring us this gorgeous gem: Death Valley Dreamlapse.
Despite temps below freezing, we went on December 13th, 2012 – the night of the Geminid Meteor Shower Peak, and a time of great planetary alignment! Armed only with boxed wine, firewood, and our DSLRs, we had to conquer epic climbs, sand roads with the 4x4 Jeep, and the occasional UFO...
But it was all worth it when the skies cleared and showed us an incredible galactic palette! Star Trails shot at 25 sec exposures. No special effects used, just the rotation of the earth's axis. Photography Merging: STARSTAX. Used Canon 5D & 7D, with a 24mm/1.4 lens and a 28mm/1.8. The Geminids get crazy as the sun comes up (2:20-2:35) but you can spot a bunch more throughout, if you look closely -- or here's a nice shot (bit.ly/SkZGdw). There's also some passing planets (1:15-1:30 and 2:15-2:25). I think these are Jupiter and Mars(?), but maybe some smart astronomer out there can verify?
But that's not all! Gavin's timelapse has a nifty little twist: a UFO appeared in the skies:
The "UFO" appears at (1:30-1:35) and makes three broad circular sweeps over the desert. Though in timelapse it appears to be moving fast, consider the 5 seconds = about 50 minutes, so it's creeping. There was no sound, so it definitely wasn't a helicopter.
Do you know what it is? Check out the gorgeous time lapse and let us know in the comment: Link [vimeo] - via Universe Today
Or someone has brougnt "blue thunder" back into the air...
But based on the picture, that UFO seems to adhere to FAA regulations regarding navigation and strobe lights.