Title : Cygnus Rising Above Mono Lake California
Credit : Roi Levi
Website :
https://www.instagram.com/astroi_levi
Date : 18/05/2023
Mono Lake is a saline soda lake situated in Mono County, Eastern California, near the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
It is one of the oldest lakes in North America, estimated to be over 1 million years old.
The lake has no outlet, which means it has high levels of dissolved salts and minerals, making it highly alkaline.
Mono Lake is renowned for its striking tufa towers. These peculiar limestone formations were created by the interaction of freshwater springs and the alkaline lake water, resulting in the deposition of calcium carbonate over time.
Bortle 1 Dark Skies:
The Bortle scale is a measure of sky darkness and the visibility of astronomical objects from a specific location. It ranges from 1 (excellent dark sky) to 9 (severely light-polluted sky).
Mono Lake has been classified as a Bortle 1 dark sky area, indicating that it offers exceptional conditions for stargazing and observing celestial objects.
With minimal light pollution, the night skies above Mono Lake provide a clear view of stars, galaxies, and other astronomical phenomena.
Such as Airglow.
Airglow refers to the faint glow of Earth's upper atmosphere caused by various chemical and physical processes.
It typically appears as a diffuse, greenish glow that blankets the sky, especially in dark sky areas.
Mono Lake's Bortle 1 designation ensures that the airglow effect is less obstructed, allowing for better visibility of celestial objects against this atmospheric phenomenon.
Celestial Wavelengths that can be seeing from mono lake is outstanding the Celestial objects emit light across a broad range of wavelengths, from radio waves to gamma rays.
The specific wavelengths of light emitted by celestial objects depend on their composition, temperature, and other factors.
In the context of stargazing at Mono Lake, the Bortle 1 dark sky designation ensures that various celestial wavelengths can be observed with greater clarity and less interference from artificial light sources.
