Night Light of the North Coast: Beach Bonfire, Meteor, and Milky Way

Post by David Wilson

Looking south from Tepona Point on the night of August 11, 2018. [ All images by David Wilson. Click or tap to see them larger.]

Looking south from Tepona Point on the night of August 11, 2018. [ All images by David Wilson. Click or tap to see them larger.]

The Perseid meteor shower has come and gone, peaking last weekend on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12. On the night of the eleventh my brother and I set out to Tepona Point, along Scenic Drive south of Trinidad, hopeful of capturing some of the terrestrial beauty of the North Coast beneath Perseid meteors and the celestial wonders of our night sky. Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter were with us above, and arcing across everything was the Milky Way.

We were treated early to a gorgeous night, though it had been mostly overcast during the week prior. At night, the steep stairs and slim trail out to the tip of the point felt extremely narrow, particularly with darkness falling away on either side to the crashing surf far below. It would be a terrible time for an earthquake, I thought as we negotiated the narrows. When we finally stood at the tip of of the jutting outcrop of Tepona Point, the Pacific Ocean pounded on the rocks on three sides of us.

The waves rolled and broke as they normally would, but in the photograph the ocean appears completely smooth. The 30-second exposure I used allowed the wave motion to average out to the silky surface you see here, another instance of the camera seeing the world differently in low light from the way we see it. Our eyes could only dimly see the waves below, lively with the incoming tide.

In one of those frequent gifts from the photo gods I am eternally grateful for, the bonfire of a group of Perseid meteor gazers blazed on the curve of Houda Point Beach, a beautifully warm counterpoint to the stars and planets above. Mars, the brightest point in the sky, appears just to the left of the Milky Way. You can see its reflection on the water in this photograph, spread wide by the rolling waves. We saw it with our naked eyes as well, though not with the clarity seen in this 30-second exposure. I’m sorry to say that Jupiter is out of view to the right. Wide as my lens was at 14mm, it couldn’t catch both Jupiter and the sweep of the shore line.

We experienced several good meteors, but the one in the accompanying image is the longest one I caught with the camera. There were also satellites, and the camera does pick them up. In fact, they can closely resemble meteors in a photograph, both appearing as streaks, and this streak could be either, so technically I will have to classify this flying object as unidentified — and you know what that means.

The annotated version. Mars was the brightest object in the sky, the Red Planet casting a reflection on the water bright enough for our naked eyes to see. The “meteor” might have been a satellite. We’ll call it “unidentified”.

The annotated version. Mars was the brightest object in the sky, the Red Planet casting a reflection on the water bright enough for our naked eyes to see. The “meteor” might have been a satellite. We’ll call it “unidentified”.

Each night of the year the night side of our planet faces a slightly new direction into space, changing gradually night by night as Earth travels around the sun, until a year from now, when Earth is in the same position in its orbit around the sun as it is tonight, our night side will have rotated past a full 360 degrees and will again show us the same sky that we’ll see tonight. The exception is the planets, which follow their own paths due to their independent orbits.

We are now deep into what people call the Milky Way season, called so for the Milky Way’s prominence early in the night sky. Whether it is visible in the night sky, and where, depends on where we are in Earth’s orbit around our sun. Right now we’re situated so that immediately after dark we can see the best part of the Milky Way, that densest area around the galactic core.

The Galactic Core (I like to think of it in capitals) is an arbitrary region near the center of our spiral galaxy, which is shaped like a flattened pinwheel. We are on one of the arms of the pinwheel, looking edge-wise through the galaxy so that the core appears especially dense. The rest of the milkiness of the Milky Way that we see is the region to either side of the core area. We see it as a milky lightness because we are looking through a great deal of stars, gas clouds, nebulae, and whatever else (I’m not an astronomer), most of which is too distant to see with any distinctness.

Tepona Point is part of Luffenholtz Park, situated on Scenic Drive between Moonstone Beach on the south and Trinidad on the north, closer to the Moonstone end. You can reach it from either direction right now, though the road is quite rough coming in from Trinidad in the north, and in the winter it is often completely impassible from that direction. Access to it from the south is usually open all year.

A steep flight of wooden stairs and a narrow trail take you out to the tip of Tepona Point, where it widens to a sandy area with a bench and a railing around the edge.

To see previous entries of “Night Light of the North Coast,” click on my name above the article. If you’d like to keep abreast of my most current photography or peer into its past, you can follow me on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx . I update my website mindscapefx.com less frequently.

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16 Comments
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Gypsy Rose
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Gypsy Rose
5 years ago

You continue to amaze me David. I can see that your soul is at peace with your photography.

David Wilson
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5 years ago
Reply to  Gypsy Rose

Thank you very much, Gypsy Rose. Your kind comments always brighten my day.

Dot
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Dot
5 years ago

Thank you David & Kym, for this lovely series. A stargazer myself with exceptional dark skies, this summer’s wildfire smoke has limited our viewing nights. This helps make up for it.

David Wilson
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5 years ago
Reply to  Dot

I’m glad it can bring you a little bit ofnight sky beauty while yours is browned out. Thank you.

Bob
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Bob
5 years ago

Do you know if this is two or more images stacked together or is it more or less as shot?

David Wilson
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5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Hi, Bob. As you might have surmised, the ground lights on the horizon were too bright. They were blasted out and lost detail in the single exposure. I took another photo exposed for those lights, and used that part of the photo to show more detail along the horizon.

KIDDZZ
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KIDDZZ
5 years ago

Good stuff once again! I can see the influence your brother must of had on this amazing pic… 😉

David Wilson
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5 years ago
Reply to  KIDDZZ

All positive 😎🖖

Bud and Earl
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Bud and Earl
5 years ago

More awesomeness! Such a good way to share the beauty of the night, as well as your interesting and well written discourse. Thank you for this window into the sky and our lands.

David Wilson
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5 years ago

On the question of whether that streak is a meteor or a satellite, Jon Pedicino, Astronomy prof at CR, pointed out that the way it fades in and out regularly (you’ll see this if you look closely) could indicate a satellite 🛰 revolving around its axis, giving us a brightness that changes as its surfaces change orientation. Sounds reasonable to me.

Lynda
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Lynda
5 years ago

David Wilson, do you sell your photos? They are incredible!

David Wilson
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5 years ago
Reply to  Lynda

Thank you, Linda, I appreciate that. I do sell prints. There is a link to my site with more information at the bottom of the article.

Lost Croat Outburst
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Lost Croat Outburst
5 years ago

Great photo, excellent text. Tried to catch the Perseid meteor shower from A. Way Park in the Mattole but didn’t stay up past midnight, which is recommended. A little smokey, too. Got a few good ones though before we fell out.

Very good job, Mr. Wilson. Thank you.

SparkleMahn
Guest
5 years ago

Thank you, David. Your pictures are so amazing and show how awesome it is here in the GodLand!

David Wilson
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5 years ago

I sure appreciate all your comments, everybody, thank you for the friendly discussion. I’m glad to be able to spread some beauty in the world. I want to do it.

Lynn Harrington
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Lynn Harrington
5 years ago

Wow, very nice David, thank you for sharing!