Astronomical Phenomena

Last weekend, in addition to the usual excellent reasons to visit Monument Valley, there was another.  For just a few days each spring and fall, the shadow of the West Mitten falls on the East Mitten.  There's a particular thrill to watching the shadow creep across the valley and up the side of this iconic monolith.

It used to be that, for a photographer to be in the right place/right time for moon & sun events, she had to pull together data from a number of sources, or learn from her mistakes.

Now, there's is an app.

The Photographer's Ephemeris removes the trial and error in anticipating moon and sun position, allowing us to be at least very close to the right place at the right time.  Here's a screenshot of TPE showing the alignment of the setting sun and the two monuments.  The darker orange is the sunset trajectory.

Of course, there are other spectacular iconic subjects around the Valley as well...

Here's the gallery from the weekend.