Astrophysicist and documentary photographer Jordi Busqué shares 11 photographs of the night sky that transcend the limits of science and enter the realm of pure wonder.
Before the turn of the 19th century, when Paris became the first city in Europe to use gas lighting to illuminate its streets, seeing the Milky Way was as common as seeing the Moon.
But in recent decades, light pollution has become so intense that many people are rarely able to admire a starry night.
I have always been fascinated by astronomy.
The night sky was incredible, with so many stars that I couldn’t even make out the main constellations. It was as impressive as jumping on a rocket and going into space.
A few years later, I took my first photographs of the center of the Milky Way rising behind the hills surrounding the town.
I eventually became an astrophysicist, which makes the experience of being out there under the stars even more meaningful to me.
Now I travel the world as a documentary photographer and science communicator in search of the last places on Earth where you can still see truly dark, starry nights.
From Morocco to Patagonia, these 11 photographs reveal some of the world’s last dark-sky sanctuaries and offer a glimpse of the majesty that once enveloped humanity.
Atacama Desert, Chile
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Atacama Desert, Chile
Taken in the Atacama Desert in northern ChileAt an altitude of almost 4,000 m, this panoramic view of the Milky Way shows its path across the sky.
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest areas in the world and offers one of the highest rates of sunny days. That means no clouds at night, which is essential if you want to photograph the stars.
On the left side of the photo you can see the center of the Milky Way, which is the brightest part of the galaxy.
Northern Chile
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Northern Chile.
I captured this photo a long time ago in an abandoned town in northern Chilewhere the nights had turned dark once again.
In the sky you can see part of the constellation Ursa Major.
It is one of the constellations visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Here it is backwards from what it would look like at that time from the north.
Fortunately, the puddle of water on the ground reflects the Big Dipper in the upright position.
Canary Islands, Spain
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Canary Islands.
Thanks to its brightness, the center of the Milky Way is relatively easy to observe.
From the northern hemisphere, it is best seen during the summer looking south, as shown in this photograph taken from the Canary Islands of Spain.
Our Solar System orbits the center of the Milky Way every 250 million years.
Since our planet is about 4.5 billion years old, that means it has completed about 20 orbits around the center of the galaxy.
Salt deserts of the Bolivian altiplano
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Luz zodiacal.
One of the most challenging quality tests for a night sky is the visibility of the zodiacal lightwhich is much fainter than the Milky Way.
Zodiacal light results from light from the Sun reflecting off dust particles floating within our Solar System and appearing as a faint, narrow, somewhat triangular-shaped glow in the night sky, extending upward from the horizon. .
In spring, you can see the zodiacal light about an hour after sunset, and in autumn about an hour before sunrise.
The time of year is also very important.
Only in spring and autumn does it extend vertically upward from the horizon. During summer and winter, the glow makes a smaller angle with the horizon and does not reach as high in the sky.
In Muslim tradition, the zodiacal light is known as the “false dawn,” because on dark desert nights it can be mistaken for the real dawn.
This photograph was captured in the salt deserts of the Bolivian altiplanoat an altitude of approximately 3,700 m.
Giant cactus field in Bolivia
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Giant cactus field in Bolivia.
When you are in truly dark places, you can see galaxies with the naked eye.
This photograph was taken in a field of giant cacti in Bolivia.
The white cloud-like shape in the center of the photo is called Large Magellanic Cloud. It is a dwarf galaxy and a satellite of our Milky Way.
Antonio Pigafetta, who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world between 1519 and 1522, was the first to report its appearance to Europeans, who were unaware of its existence, since it is only visible from the southern hemisphere.
Land of Fire
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Land of Fire.
In some places it almost seems like you can touch the stars.
That was the feeling I wanted to convey with this image of stars reflected in a tide pool in the Argentine coast of Tierra del Fuego.
The region is known for its strong winds, so I followed the wind forecast for many days to maximize my chances of achieving stable water conditions and therefore a clear reflection.
Cerro Torre, Argentina
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Cerro Torre, Argentina
It took me three visits to capture this photo of the Cerro Torre, the legendary peak of the Patagonian Andes in Argentinaas the peak is often shrouded in clouds.
Here you can see the different colors of the stars, which provide information about their surface temperature and, to some extent, the stage of their life cycles.
Stars that appear redder are cooler and typically older than their bluer counterparts.
Oasis in the Sahara
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Oasis in the Sahara.
To find places with clear night skies, you need to go to places where population density is low. For this reason, deserts are usually good places to admire starry nights.
This photograph was taken in an oasis in the sahara desert; Here you can see cloud-like shapes that are visible to the naked eye.
But the shapes keep a secret that is only revealed when a telescope or binoculars are used.
Galileo Galilei was the first person to do this (with his small homemade telescope) in 1610 and discovered that light clouds are actually dense swarms of millions of individual stars.
Morocco
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Whom the Atlantic coast of Moroccoyou can see the very soft glow produced by the starlight, which is stronger facing the sea than facing the land.
Baby sea turtles use this light to move towards the sea immediately after hatching.
Unfortunately, light pollution causes the land to shine brighter than the sea, causing them to get confused and walk in the opposite direction.
Light pollution bothers astronomers, but also other nocturnal creatures such as baby sea turtles, moths and fireflies.
The Pyrenees
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Cemetery in Los Pyrenees.
In Europe it is increasingly difficult to find places without light pollution.
The best we can hope for is to find a place where at least part of the sky remains dark.
Places like this still exist in some mountainous rural areas, such as the Pyreneeswhere I took this photograph in a cemetery to convey the feeling of eternity that is often obtained when looking at the stars.
Self-portrait in the Uyuni salt flat, Bolivia
IMAGE SOURCE,JORDI BUSQUÉ
Uyuni in Bolivia.
When you lie down and look up in a place without trees or other tall objects, your field of vision contains only stars and it is very easy to imagine that you are simply floating in space or on the surface of the Moon.
Fuente: BBC Travel *