Author Archives: Carol

Sunset Apparition

Posted on by June 17, 2014

Aug 2010

Sunset ApparitionWhen I prepare for an evening’s stargazing, I always keep a watchful eye on the clouds. I acknowledge their beauty, remain friendly, give them time to show off their glorious sunset gowns  but when dusk settles in, I plead with them to go away until another day.
This is my ritual.
Something about yesterday was slightly different.

The wind was howling. The sunset was magnificent. The clouds rolled in and then as I looked through my viewfinder to take a photograph  I noticed “the apparition”.
I looked twice and thought no no, I am not going to be phased by this. “These clouds need to go away now! I am on a mission. Tonight  I need to see Orion rising over the mountain, the beautiful globular cluster of stars  in Tucana and far away galaxies  ”
The clouds dispersed slowly.
The wind kept howling but I took shelter. I must have been the only one outdoors when the International Space Station sailed across the sky  from west to east . I remembered to wave. Tumbling satellites flashed their signals. Night creatures were stirring……….
It was around midnight that I directed my telescope at the Silver Coin Galaxy – 10 million light years away. What a magnificent sight to behold.
This object was first discovered by Caroline Herschel way back in 1783 and there I was discovering it all over again in the night sky over Betty’s Bay.
Mmm, what a considerate apparition!

Two little Clouds

Posted on by June 11, 2020

Feb 2009

There are two little clouds that can only be seen from southern latitudes. Even on cloudless summer nights these two clouds are ever persistent. If you face south to southwest and slowly gaze slightly upward, you will notice them – one a bit larger than the other but night after night always taking on the same form. These two clouds do not belong to the Earth’s weather pattern at all but are actually two, very far away irregular dwarf galaxies called the Large and Small Magellanic clouds.

At a distance of 179,000 light years away, they were known as the Earth ‘s closest neighbouring galaxies until another galaxy, the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, which is 80,0000 light years away, was discovered in 1994.

However, not to be upstaged by the new discovery, the Magellanic Clouds will always hold appeal because of the fact that they both are clearly visible to the naked eye as well as being south circumpolar objects, sometimes a bit higher in the sky and sometimes dipping low towards the horizon. If you own binoculars, take a closer look at these two clouds. You are not going to see rain there but I can assure you that a pretty picture will unfold.

When I am at Betty’s Bay I gaze up at the sky regularly just to confirm that they can actually still be seen with the naked eye  I am always relieved that although I have new neighbours who tend to leave on outside lights throughout the night, I am still able to find the galaxies without the aid of my telescope.
A note to all Betty’s Bay residents: From where I live near city lights I cannot see the Magellanic Clouds at all. Like so much else that is precious about Betty’s Bay, the night skies also need to be preserved.

Total Eclipse-Feb 2008

Posted on by July 20, 2021

Polluted-eclipseThere is little to compare with the emotions evoked by a lunar eclipse. One can set out to witness one of these events with a group of friends or join a host of spectators on a hilltop lookout but I prefer to go solo.
On 21 February 2008 I packed my gear, camera, binocs, coffee, chocolates and…. coffee into my 1956 VW Beetle in which I felt least likely to be hi-jacked and headed for Blouberg Strand which has a magnificent view of Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Although I like solo, I felt a need to be close to other people just for safety’s sake.
The eclipse had been widely publicized and I was expecting a crowd of onlookers on the beach and on the balconies of apartments. It was past midnight and the beach was dark and deserted. It felt a little creepy. I parked in a parking bay opposite an apartment block where there was still some activity but one by one the shutters closed and the lights went out. This was extreme solo. After giving my details and reasons for being there to a security guy and chatting to a hooker who had just taken a drunk client back to his apartment, I settled in to prepare for the eclipse.
At 03:13 I noticed the first slight darkening towards the top right limb of the Moon. From then on it was just me on Mother Earth and she had all intention of casting her shadow on the Moon as they silently progressed in their respective orbits. My emotions started building up. I scanned through all the events of my life. My camera was set up with a remote shutter release and I just clicked away, adjusting exposures as the Moon darkened. At 03:43 I could see a definite shadow and the chapters of my life closed one by one. I glanced over my shoulder to see if someone in the apartment block had set an alarm clock.
At 04:55 with only a slither of bright Moon visible, I noticed a ruddiness creep over the whole surface of the Moon. I felt connected to all my friends, witnessing the event from other locations. The eclipsed part of the Moon turned a rusty orange. I do not think I have seen a more beautiful sight. The security car approached and the guy gave me a thumbs up. I acknowledged the gesture. It was almost daybreak and I headed home before the early morning traffic. Close to home I stopped and caught one last glimpse of the eclipsed Moon through heavy city pollution.

Getting to know the Night Sky

Nov 2011

Getting to know the night sky is not much different from getting to know your neighbourhood, city, province or country. Some of us skip a few steps and venture farther to neighbouring countries or feel a real need for speed and travel right around the world. A select few have progressed past all of this and have become zero gravity junkies, living and working beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
In getting to know the night sky, you first visit Earth’s immediate neighbourhood – the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars, the  gas planets, the Sun and other objects of the solar system. Some skip these steps and venture to our second nearest star system,  Alpha,Beta and Proxima Centauri. Others explore the thousands of star clusters and nebulae between the millions and millions of stars that form our Milky Way Galaxy.
The ultimate thrill seekers search for galaxies outside our own, whizzing past the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are visible to the naked eye and farther and  farther into space. A select few go for gold  and with the aid of “Extremely Very Large” telescopes see back in time, as far back as thirteen billion years and more, to where it all began.
Whichever adventure you embark on, there will be pros and cons.
You will either be constantly on the move or quite stationary. Reading road maps during the day is much easier than reading sky maps in the dark.
Discovering new places on Earth and in the night sky are equally thrilling. On daytime excursions you need to look respectable most of the time. On night sky adventures you need not fret if you have left your vanity case at home.
During the day you could get struck by a buck. Snakes are nocturnal.
Jet lag or lack of sleep are to be expected. You have the option of lugging along heavy baggage or travelling light.
Adverse atmospheric conditions could put a damper on any adventure.
Depression is a normal side-effect when you return to reality. This is a necessary condition which drives you to plan your next excursion.
Which destination will beckon? Plenty sunshine or plenty starshine?
Traffic, crowds, noise, queues or solitary stillness, with or without a few like-minded friends.
In my case, getting to know the night sky will most probably outweigh all other options…