Scattered across the United States, from the Southwest, all the way to Hawai'i, ancient astronomy petroglyphs and archaeoastronomy structures sit weathering in the landscape. Carved and built by diverse group of tribes, from Native Hawaiians, to the Paiutes of Bishop, California, and the Ancestral Puebloans of the Southwest, these petroglyphs and structures reflect the long standing interest in Ancient Astronomy which grew stronger as many of the tribes went from the Hunter Gatherer to the Agrarian societal orders. From references to the Sun carved in the rock, and interest in using the Sun to predict seasons (entire buildings built to essentially serve as sundials and calendars, a critical element in the farming communities) to those of 13 moons (lunar annual calendar), to carvings of stars and constellations, interest in celestial bodies is ever present across the indigenous communities of the United States.
This video journeys to National Park Service sites from California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, many of whom give us a glimpse of how the night sky may have appeared to the ancient inhabitants of those lands. Many of these places were named International Dark-Sky Parks by the International Dark-Sky Association, partly due to their remote locations, and partly due to the hard work by the National Park Service to preserve the quality of the night skies through lighting retrofits and educational programs about the night sky heritage and astronomy.
The video also features 2018’s epic Lunar Eclipse, a.k.a. “Blood Moon,” seen at 1:03.
This video was filmed as part of SKYGLOW (skyglowproject.com), an ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible dark sky areas in North America. This project is being produced in collaboration with International Dark-Sky Association (darksky.org), a non-profit fighting for the preservation of night skies around the globe.
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Locations:
Wupatki National Monument, Arizona
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico
Bishop, California
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The film was shot on Canon 5DIV cameras & lenses sponsored by Canon USA, aided by Alpine Labs' Michron & Pulse, powered by Paul C. Buff Vagabond Mini. LRTimelapse was used to process some of the shots. Adobe Lightroom and Premiere were used for editing and processing.
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ANCESTRAL NIGHTS Photo Stills: https://bit.ly/30M7g6Y
SKYGLOW Book Stills: http://bit.ly/2vXO7Ag
Other Photos from SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM: https://bit.ly/2qXCjtG
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Credits:
Directors/Producers/Shooters: Harun Mehmedinovic & Gavin Heffernan
Editor: Harun Mehmedinovic
Music: Richard Lacy & Jeff Dale
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Special Thanks:
Geoff Goins & National Park Service, Bob Meadows & Sue Johnson-Erner, Stanley Merritt & Randy Stanley, Leila Conners, Mathew Schmid & Tree Media, Semezdin & Sanja Mehmedinovic, Aaron Mcnally, Alan Lewis & Canon Usa, Inc., Dara Grombliniak & Alex Sax, Greg Horvath & Alpine Labs, International Dark-Sky Association
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Follow/Contact:
Facebook facebook.com/skyglowproject
Instagram: instagram.com/skyglowproject
Email: info@skyglowproject.com
For more videos please visit: vimeo.com/harun
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This video is COPYRIGHT 2019 Harun Mehmedinovic & Gavin Heffernan / SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM. Any use beyond embedding this video in it's unaltered form and properly credited to SKYGLOW PROJECT/SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM on another website requires permission from the creator. Any use of the entirety or portion(s) of this video to drive advertising traffic, sales or any other profit-driven venture on a third party website without express permission from the content creator will result in prosecution to the full extent of the law.
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About SKYGLOW:
Timelapse artists and filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović are proud to introduce WWW.SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, a 192-page hardcover photobook and timelapse video series exploring North America’s remaining magnificent night skies and the increasing impact of light pollution on our highly fragile environment.
A blend of images, stories, essays, and anecdotal captions, SKYGLOW explores the history and mythology of celestial observation and the proliferation of electrical outdoor lighting that spurred the rise of the phenomena known as “light pollution,” a grave threat not only to our incredible starscapes but also to the very ecosystem itself.