The Milky Way stretching across the night sky over the Saskatchewan River in Jasper National Park is a breathtaking spectacle that transforms the landscape into a celestial theater. In the photograph, the river winds quietly through the valley, its dark surface reflecting subtle hints of starlight and the faint glow of distant auroras. Above, the Milky Way arcs majestically across the sky, a dense band of stars, dust, and cosmic color that seems impossibly close in the clear mountain air. The mountains stand as silent guardians along the horizon, their rugged forms silhouetted against the infinite expanse above, grounding the scene and giving scale to the universe on display. Wisps of clouds drift slowly, adding texture and a sense of motion, while pockets of darkness in the sky make the stars appear even more brilliant. The scene is at once humbling and intimate—the vastness of the cosmos contrasted with the still, meandering river below, reminding the viewer of both our smallness and our connection to the natural world. Cool, deep blues dominate the landscape, while the Milky Way itself brings warmer hints of gold, violet, and white, creating a delicate, almost painterly palette. There is a profound quiet in this moment, a sense that time has paused, leaving only the steady presence of earth and sky. As a photograph, this image captures more than just stars above a river—it captures the enduring wonder of Jasper National Park, where the universe feels close enough to touch and the night itself becomes a canvas of light.