Time-lapse video: Daniel Lowe's “Life Above 5,000 Feet.”

Life Above 5,000 Feet

Life Above 5,000 Feet

Bad Astronomy
The entire universe in blog form
Aug. 2 2015 7:00 AM

Colorado High

Lake and Milky Way
Yeah, pretty much every night is like this.

Photo by Daniel Lowe, form the video

If you ever wonder why I love living in Colorado, well, maybe this’ll help.

That video was shot by Daniel Lowe as he drove through western Colorado and eastern Utah. Where I live, there’s substantial light pollution, but out by Gunnison the skies get dark (one of the many reasons my wife and I held a Science Getaways there), and the stars are magnificent.

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And the geology! Some of it is lifted up, some of it eroded down, but there’s a billion years of history tucked away in the American Southwest. This is an astonishing place to live.

And that spillway/waterfall at 01:20? Lowe told me that’s south of Ouray on U.S. Highway 550. That’s a bit of a haul from my neck of the woods, but if I’m ever out that way, I’ll have to stop and see. This planet is a source of unending delights.