Gary Peltz captured the image above at around 2 a.m. on July 29, 2017. The lights in the sky are stars, of course, but Gary said the lights strings on the mountain are from climbers (“More than I’ve ever seen! Over 50 of them I’d guess”) who mostly start their trek up the mountain around midnight. That way, he explained, they get back down before the surface warms up too much and the ice turns slushy, making it hard to maneuver. Gary also provided these details about his photo:
Equipment Details:
Nikon D810
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
Post-processing Details:
10 exposures each at:
10 seconds
f2.8
ISO 12,800
Stacked in Photoshop CC 2017, final edit in Lightroom 6.1
Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning six major rivers.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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