When I was a child, I loved going to the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. It was magical to sit under a faux night sky with all the stars perfectly placed above and to learn about the constellations present at that particular time of year, all thanks to a projector that looks like some weird giant mechanical ant sitting in the middle of the round, domed room.
 |
| Fels Planetarium Back in the Day |
I would love to show a picture of the faux night sky in the Fels Planetarium, but, unfortunately, I cannot, as the need for money being what it is among non-profits, most of the pictures on the internet are of couples getting married in the Fels Planetarium under a giant moon. Good grief! It's not worth the potential copyright violation to post even one of those here. Instead, I have posted something from a different planetarium.
 |
| Giant Mechanical Ant Head under the Faux Night Sky |
When the sun goes down here in East Sandwich, we find ourselves under a real night sky. Ours is the only house with lights on in the evening. The street lights are few and far between, and the one closest to us is not working. We have before us a giant bay with absolutely no lights, except for the dim dots of illumination provided every now and then by a vessel anchored on the horizon overnight. In other words, it is DARK here.
Every single time I find myself outside, when it's clear and dark, and I look up, I am astounded by what I see. The moon. Random stars, shooting and stationary. Constellations. Planets. The Milky Way. Even a comet. There is no shortage of amazement! Yesterday was no different, except that we were amazed both day and night by what flew overhead.
Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, and there was no wind, thus making the 48 degree temperature feel a bit warmer. At about 4:45 p.m., TSO called me from his tidal travels to report that someone was flying above in a powered paraglider and that he was headed toward the beach house.
Here's a picture of someone using a powered paraglider:
Here are pictures of our local flyer:
 |
| Paraglider Approaching Beach House |
 |
| Paraglider Overhead |
 |
| Paraglider Going Back to Where He Came From |
As exciting as it was to see the powered paraglider yesterday afternoon, the piece de resistance of the day took place last night under the dark, severe clear sky, when SpaceX's Starlink satellite train flew overhead. TSO and I had been out on a grocery and romantic Valentine's Day dinner takeout pick up run, knowing that we had to be back at the house and on our deck by precisely 6:33 p.m. to see this phenomenon. We made it just in time. Imagine 50+ reindeer, all with very shiny white noses, pulling Santa's sleigh, single file, across the sky. That's what this sight reminded me of.
We weren't able to take pictures, but, thanks to the internet, this is what we saw zooming across the sky above Cape Cod Bay:
 |
| Is This Cool or What?!!! |
This truly was one of the most thrilling celestial events I have ever witnessed. No planetarium show is even close!
To learn more about Starlink, go to:
https://www.nbcboston.com/weather/stories-weather/did-you-see-strange-lights-in-the-sky-last-night-you-might-see-them-again-tonight/2973561/
https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/3856598-see-a-string-of-lights-in-the-sky-what-it-is-and-when-you-could-see-them-again/
www.findstarlink.com
I wonder whether we'll ever see a Chinese "weather" balloon fly overhead....
 |
| Big Balloon |
You captured the evening wonderfully! The Starlink train was amazing - like tracers running across nearly the whole sky.
ReplyDeleteFlying reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh is a more pleasant image, TSO!
DeleteBob says we saw something like this once, but I don't remember. Next time I'll pay better attention! "Tidal walk" is a nice turn of a phrase. I love the image of my brother strolling the beach.
ReplyDeleteIt was an amazing sight!
ReplyDelete