Desert Star Photos

The Wave at Night, under a clear night sky full of stars. Photographer is illuminating the striated rocks with a small handheld light. The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28620  

The Second Wave at Night. The Second Wave, a spectacular sandstone formation in the North Coyote Buttes, lies under a sky full of stars.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28627  

Milky Way and Stars over Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29238  

Racetrack sailing stone and star trails. A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27671  

Lunar Eclipse and blood red moon sequence, over Juniper and Standing Rock, composite image, Joshua Tree National Park, April 14/15 2014.
Image ID: 29204  

Milky Way and Stars through Wilson Arch. Wilson Arch rises high above route 191 in eastern Utah, with a span of 91 feet and a height of 46 feet.
Location: Wilson Arch, Moab, Utah
Image ID: 29275  

Star trails and Arch Rock. Polaris, the North Star, is at the center of the circular arc star trails as they pass above this natural stone archway in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27709  

The Wave at Night, under a clear night sky full of stars. The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28621  

Stars over Corona Arch at Night, Moab, Utah.
Location: Corona Arch, Moab, Utah
Image ID: 29241  

Stars and Iridium Flare over Double Arch, Arches National Park (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Double Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29250  

Milky Way over Sandstone Fins. Sandstone fins stand on edge. Vertical fractures separate standing plates of sandstone that are eroded into freestanding fins, that may one day further erode into arches. (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29254  

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, Aug 13, 2014.
Location: Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 31144  

Dune Evening Primrose bloom under the stars in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 33166  

Ocotillo Wind Energy Turbines, at night with stars and the Milky Way in the sky above, the moving turbine blades illuminated by a small flashlight.
Location: Ocotillo, California
Image ID: 30239  

Arch Rock, Venus and Milky Way at Astronomical Twilight, Morning approaching, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 29231  

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, Aug 13, 2014.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 31145  

Racetrack sailing stone and Milky Way, at night. A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27640  

Racetrack sailing stone and star trails. A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27667  

Boulders and stars, moonlight in Joshua Tree National Park. The moon gently lights unusual boulder formations at Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, California.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 27716  

The Wave at Night, under a clear night sky full of stars. The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28623  

The Second Wave at Night. The Second Wave, a spectacular sandstone formation in the North Coyote Buttes, lies under a sky full of stars.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28628  

Moon and Stars over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29236  

Stars over the Organ, Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park.
Location: Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29272  

Milky Way and Stars over Delicate Arch, at night, Arches National Park, Utah (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29299  

Milky Way over Arch Rock, planet Venus framed with the arch, at astronomical twilight, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 29198  
Panorama dimensions: 9335 x 12912

Stars over Corona Arch at Night, Moab, Utah.
Location: Corona Arch, Moab, Utah
Image ID: 29242  

Moon and Stars over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29232