Posted: Aug 25, 2017 11:10 am
I am pretty envious of you guys catching the totality. Mind you I had my own 'watcher of the skies' episode during my recent trip back to the UK. Living in the heart of the Kansai region, the light pollution from Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto pretty much obscures all but the very brightest stars.
(I just took a quick walk to the convenience store here...completely clear skies. I could see the crescent of the moon in the south western sky and a total of half a dozen other celestial bodies: Jupiter Saturn and a few stars).
Back in rural West Cumbria two weeks ago I walked my sister back to her house and on my walk home at near midnight my night vision kicked in and I stopped to see the sky filled with thousands upon thousand of stars. The Milky Way (Or ama no gawa 天の川 in Japanese, a name I like) was clearly visible and it was right when the Perseid meteor shower was happening. I caught sight of a fair number as they streaked across the sky. I located Cassiopeia and then narrowed down towards Pegasus and I feel sure that I caught the faint blur of Andromeda using peripheral vision. It has been many many years since I have seen the night sky like that and I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. I like big city life but I do miss the starscaped night sky.
(I just took a quick walk to the convenience store here...completely clear skies. I could see the crescent of the moon in the south western sky and a total of half a dozen other celestial bodies: Jupiter Saturn and a few stars).
Back in rural West Cumbria two weeks ago I walked my sister back to her house and on my walk home at near midnight my night vision kicked in and I stopped to see the sky filled with thousands upon thousand of stars. The Milky Way (Or ama no gawa 天の川 in Japanese, a name I like) was clearly visible and it was right when the Perseid meteor shower was happening. I caught sight of a fair number as they streaked across the sky. I located Cassiopeia and then narrowed down towards Pegasus and I feel sure that I caught the faint blur of Andromeda using peripheral vision. It has been many many years since I have seen the night sky like that and I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. I like big city life but I do miss the starscaped night sky.