The Milky Way Over Yellowstone Is Impossibly Beautiful

These photographs of Yellowstone National Park by Dave Lane are so gorgeous it’s difficult to believe they’re from real life.

The Abyss Pool in Yellowstone National Park. Image credit: Dave Lane

Lane photographed the Abyss Pool in Yellowstone National Park just after a storm had passed the area — you can catch the hint of a flash of lightning between the trees in the center light. The image contains an astonishing example of airglow, the faint emission of light in a planetary atmosphere that prevents the night sky from ever being completely dark. When first posting the photograph to his Facebook page, Lane explained that instead of dropping airglow saturation by 10% like he usually does, he emphasized it by 10% in a gentle tweak on this stunning image. He spent 4 months colour-correcting the night time images to match them to the natural colours seen in the daytime at Yellowstone National Park.

Black Pool in Yellowstone National Park. Image credit: Dave Lane

When asked about his astrophotography, Lane practically glows with awe in our astonishing, beautiful universe:

Get away from the light drive out 20-30 miles out of town and look up on a clear dark nite and you may see something that will forever change your life. This is what a galaxy looks like from the inside.

Top image: Multi-Prismatic Springs in Yellowstone National park. Credit: Dave Lane