Shenandoah Valley, located in gorgeous rural Virginia, is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the oldest mountain range in the world.

Shenandoah National Park, located at the northern section of the valley, struggles to maintain its dark skies as the surrounding towns such as Harrisonburg, Charlottesville and even as far back as Washington D.C, produce high levels of light pollution. Although the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park aims to curb light pollution on federal lands across the United States, severe urban light pollution of surrounding towns often negates those efforts. 

This video reveals an interesting phenomenon which occurred in Summer 2015, when endless storms hammered the east coast of the United States for weeks. During one night, the clouds from those storms blocked much of the light pollution, which coupled with the clarity of the atmosphere, provided a rare crystal clear sighting of the Milky Way from the high elevation of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

This video, which premiered on BBC Earth, was filmed as part of SKYGLOW, an ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible Dark Sky Preserves in North America. You can support SKYGLOW by visiting WWW.SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151219-a-rare-glimpse-of-the-milky-way-over-the-shenandoah-valley

The film was shot and edited by Harun Mehmedinović on Canon 5DIII & 6D Cameras aided by Alpine Labs' Michron, powered by Paul C. Buff Vagabond Mini. The startrails were created using the rotation of Earth's axis and STARSTAX. LRTimelapse was used to process some of the shots.

High resolution stills can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9na77nmzldo8wyf/SKYGLOW-SHENANDOAH%20REVERIE-STILLS.zip?dl=0

This video is part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Trilogy, Part 1: Melancholy Gorge, can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/149737360

Credits:
Producer/Editor/Shooter: Harun Mehmedinovic
Music: Paul Mottram

Special Thanks: 
Gavin Heffernan & Iva Vest
Semezdin & Sanja Mehmedinovic
Matt Walker & Pierangelo Pirak
Kevin Noble & Paul C. Buff Inc.
Greg Horvath & Alpine Labs
International Dark-Sky Association
Northern Arizona University
State Of Virginia

Locations:
Shenandoah Valley, VA

Moody summer fog gives way to magnificent views of the Milky Way in Shenandoah Valley. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151219-a-rare-glimpse-of-the-milky-way-over-the-shenandoah-valley