Toby Harriman snapped this photo from Tunnel View – a scenic overlook on State Route 41 in Yosemite National Park in California – a few weeks ago. Low fog was rolling into the valley, and Toby said he was able to capture conditions he’d always dreamed of.
His favorite part of the photo: The climber’s headlamp visible midway up the vertical rock formation El Capitan, on the left.
Framed in the sky at the center of the photo is the tiny, misty, dipper-shaped star cluster Pleiades, or Seven Sisters.
Since the park opened in 1933, Tunnel View has provided people with this amazing view of the Yosemite Valley. In addition to El Capitan, you can see Bridalveil Fall, one of Yosemite’s most beautiful waterfalls, on the right. In the background, you can see Half Dome, a granite dome — possibly Yosemite’s most familiar rock formation – rising more than 4,737 feet (1,444 meters) above the valley floor.
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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