Sunday, October 15, 2017

Under the Milky Way

You've read from time to time about my love of astronomy. My morning walks with Shep are great for me, as I get to look to the heavens and see the stars.  Granted, it's limited, as it is not an unobstructed view.  That an light pollution. Sodium lights every 100 feet or so....and that's just at my vantage point.

710 stumbled upon this video though. It was attached to an article saying that 80% of the planet (or was it just the U.S.?) cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution.

I can't say I've ever really seen it. A time or two - be it in Mexico, Key West or such - on the beach at night. Or or in the Mojave.  That number of stars is quite impressive. And while I'm not afraid of the dark, there is something a little disconcerting about being on a deserted beach when it is pitch black.

The video below show light pollution levels from 10 to 1 and how it changes your view of the nighttime sky.  It's quite amazing and just fucking beautiful.......excuse my language.

We both agreed that this might be cooler than seeing the aurora borealis (not that we have......yet) and that perhaps we don't base a vacation around this per se, but if we have the chance, take an opportunity to see such a marvel.

I know my crappy iPhone 6 won't capture these photos........but I'm a 1000% sure that the iPhone X will. 





Song by: the Church

5 comments:

Raybeard said...

Totally stunning video. Takes my breath clean away.

You've doubtlessly mentioned your love of Astronomy several times in your blog, but for some reason I've never picked up on it - till now.
I got a passion for the subject when I was 10. I can identify the precise moment, when our teacher told the class for each of us to start writing a 'book' (just a jotter) on a subject that meant a lot to us. When going round to ask what we had chosen, and I was stumped to think of anything, he said that he was surprised that no one had thought of Astronomy. That was it! I started reading avidly on the subject in books borrowed from the public library, and was straight away bitten by the bug and transfixed. It became an all-consuming passion, and it's never left me in all the ensuing 60 years.
I never miss a TV programme on the subject - and they do come up quite frequently - as well as consuming with a voracious appetite all such newspaper articles. The facts that keep coming out with increasing regularity often just knock me back in my seat. There was a TV prog just last week on seas and even oceans found on (possibly) other planets and (definitely) some satellites, all just within our own Solar System. Wow!

I hope you'll do more postings on Astronomy in the future, B. You can be sure you'll have at least one avid reader - and plenty more, I've no doubt.


wcs said...

Out here where I live there is very little light pollution. I see the milky way all the time, not to mention satellites and the ISS. This morning I was outside with Tasha and Orion is hanging over the south side of the house while the big dipper is up on the northern side. And I get to see planets all the time. There's a great web site, you probably know it, called Heavens Above (www.heavens-above.com), that gives you live info on what's in the sky at any given moment all kinds of nerdy data.

anne marie in philly said...

cool; thanks for posting!

too much light pollution around philly to see many stars. but a trip to cooperstown NY, far away from any city lights, and BOOM! stars galore!

Fearsome Beard said...

Yes, I assure you the iPhone X will filter out all light pollution and give you magnificent almost obersvatory telescope quality photos of the night sky.

Deedles said...

Born and raised in San Diego, so I never really saw the stars, even though I looked up a lot trying to escape mentally. They were there, but I didn't know how many I was missing.

Forty years ago, my husband took me and the kids tent camping at Palomar National Park, up in the mountains. The kids were asleep, and we were sitting in the dark at a picnic table, when my husband said "Look". I jumped because I thought he was pointing out a spider, being the sick, sadistic s.o.b. he can be sometimes :) However, he was pointing at the night sky and I finally understood the meaning of a blanket of stars. It was so totally awesome and beautiful and we just sat staring into the vastness, mesmerized until that huge skunk traipsed across our campsite. Loved camping ever since.