Stargazing is a nightly ritual for me now. I’ve made it my goal to learn the stars as much as possible, since there isn’t too much else to do after dark around here, and I don’t want to blow through all of my books too quickly (I’ve already finished Gorillas in the Mist). While I’m stargazing, I am often treated to the spectacular light show of a thunderstorm in the Virungas, which are just barely visible on a clear day. Thanks to the program Stellarium (Dr. Bennington, kudos to you for giving it to me way back when in the Galapagos), the stars are a lot easier to make sense of than with just a traditional star chart. Today I was able to convince myself that I caught a glimpse of one of Jupiter’s moons while gazing through my binoculars, although it’s entirely possible that I wanted to see it so badly that my mind invented it. Through my binoculars, I also got a great view of the dark side of the moon (the lit-up portion is now only a very thin crescent) and some clusters and possibly galaxies in the Milky Way (including the Southern Pleiades). There is something magical about stargazing – the way it unites folklore of the past with modern discoveries about other galaxies and nebulae and black holes. Though I’ll never possess an understanding of astronomy to the degree of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, I’d be content with being able to name the major stars and constellations even when they move around the sky in the different seasons. Being so near the equator (we are just over 1 degree south in Nyagatare), I have the advantage of being able to see some of the northern sky as well as the southern sky, although the best view from our house is to the southwest.
No stars yet, but still beautiful.
Monkey See, Monkey Poo 