The sky overnight 21st to 22nd April was something really special. A bright but breezy day turned to a still, clear evening. Two hours after sunset and with a frost setting in there was still plenty of light on the western horizon. I rigged a camera on a tripod set to manual focus, wide aperture and exposures of 5 seconds in the hope of giving an impression of what the eye could see.
Somewhat later the light had receded and the night sky had developed into a wonder of pin-sharp stars, and one very bright plant - Venus.
At 2300 Venus was so bright that it was casting a shadow; it's the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon and a fascinating planet - its brilliance due to the reflective quality of the toxic cloud cover - and a planet where a day is longer than a year.
We saw a number of satellites crossing the sky and several of the Lyrid meteor shower before finally and reluctantly coming inside some time after midnight. Most of the evening had been spent just absorbing the brilliance, clarity and enormity of a night sky - there are times when the sheer majesty of it is almost overwhelming.
I've only been able to fully appreciate the night sky on holidays abroad as although I've seen it often from winter bothies in remote areas it's usually far too cold to stay out for longer than 15 minutes. Venus can be amazing when it's at its brightest.
ReplyDeleteI'm very fortunate in that there's almost no light pollution at home Bob - something I never take for granted. Venus is the brightest I can remember seeing it at present
ReplyDelete:o)