A Highly Unusual Sky
I've been trying to get outdoors with my telescopes this summer but there have been a number of obstacles to this seemingly simple endeavor.
Most importantly, the skies on most days and nights have been obscured by clouds or fog. On the rare occasion when the sun is shining (and it has been very rare this summer), it has been incredibly hazy ruining any chance of seeing detail on the sun. The very few clear nights we've had have been incredibly hazy too.
Another big problem we've had this summer is a big Black Bear wandering around our neighborhood at night, getting into things and causing a big stir. I have no desire to have this bear join me out there in the darkness so I've been reluctant to get out there even on the rare hazy, mediocre nights.
We've been struggling with some health issues in recent weeks so when Friday came around last week, we were both planning to eat dinner, watch a little television and then head to bed as early as possible. Neither of us had any energy for anything else.
We each got ready for bed and, while Sheila was finishing up in the bathroom, I stepped out into our backyard right outside our back door to check the night sky... I peered up into the sky... and I was instantly shocked at what I saw...
When I say I haven't seen a sky like this in about 20 years, I am not exaggerating!
Before my eyes even had a chance to adjust to complete darkness, I immediately noticed the Milky Way arched across the night sky... bright and colorful... there were so many stars in the sky it looked like a spattering of white paint from a can of spray paint... then, slowly, my eyes adjusted to the darkness... the sky was absolutely spectacular in color and crisp detail with millions of stars visible with my naked eye! It truly was spectacular!
I went back indoors to get Sheila... she had to see this... I turned off all the lights indoors so that her eyes could adjust to the darkness... she thought I was just turning off lights on my way to the bedroom but I told her to wait...
After a minute, I pulled her out onto the deck... and told her to look up... I had already seen this sight and I still said, "WOW" again! There were so many crisp stars in the sky and visible with the naked eye that it was now difficult to identify Constellations and the usual well-known stars... the sky was simply filled with stars with an inky black background... and they were crisp and bright. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, even more fainter stars appeared in between the millions of brighter stars. Words cannot do this scene justice.
Even though we are in Vermont where air pollution and light pollution are minimal, I only remember one of two other nights even remotely similar to this and those nights were about 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, even with this burst of excitement over the view spread out across the universe over our heads, we were both still so exhausted that neither of us had the energy to pull out any telescopes. We did, however, head to bed amazed at the sight we did see.
Of course, now I'm hoping for repeat conditions when I am feeling up to a night of stargazing with my telescopes and cameras!
...and, hopefully, I won't need to wait another 20 years...
Most importantly, the skies on most days and nights have been obscured by clouds or fog. On the rare occasion when the sun is shining (and it has been very rare this summer), it has been incredibly hazy ruining any chance of seeing detail on the sun. The very few clear nights we've had have been incredibly hazy too.
Another big problem we've had this summer is a big Black Bear wandering around our neighborhood at night, getting into things and causing a big stir. I have no desire to have this bear join me out there in the darkness so I've been reluctant to get out there even on the rare hazy, mediocre nights.
We've been struggling with some health issues in recent weeks so when Friday came around last week, we were both planning to eat dinner, watch a little television and then head to bed as early as possible. Neither of us had any energy for anything else.
We each got ready for bed and, while Sheila was finishing up in the bathroom, I stepped out into our backyard right outside our back door to check the night sky... I peered up into the sky... and I was instantly shocked at what I saw...
When I say I haven't seen a sky like this in about 20 years, I am not exaggerating!
Before my eyes even had a chance to adjust to complete darkness, I immediately noticed the Milky Way arched across the night sky... bright and colorful... there were so many stars in the sky it looked like a spattering of white paint from a can of spray paint... then, slowly, my eyes adjusted to the darkness... the sky was absolutely spectacular in color and crisp detail with millions of stars visible with my naked eye! It truly was spectacular!
I went back indoors to get Sheila... she had to see this... I turned off all the lights indoors so that her eyes could adjust to the darkness... she thought I was just turning off lights on my way to the bedroom but I told her to wait...
After a minute, I pulled her out onto the deck... and told her to look up... I had already seen this sight and I still said, "WOW" again! There were so many crisp stars in the sky and visible with the naked eye that it was now difficult to identify Constellations and the usual well-known stars... the sky was simply filled with stars with an inky black background... and they were crisp and bright. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, even more fainter stars appeared in between the millions of brighter stars. Words cannot do this scene justice.
Even though we are in Vermont where air pollution and light pollution are minimal, I only remember one of two other nights even remotely similar to this and those nights were about 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, even with this burst of excitement over the view spread out across the universe over our heads, we were both still so exhausted that neither of us had the energy to pull out any telescopes. We did, however, head to bed amazed at the sight we did see.
Of course, now I'm hoping for repeat conditions when I am feeling up to a night of stargazing with my telescopes and cameras!
...and, hopefully, I won't need to wait another 20 years...
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