While exploring the lodge when we arrived, we found these curious figures on the veranda area and a sign nearby saying "Star Party - 8pm". Never one to miss a party, I thought the kids and I should go after dinner (Damian still not well enough for dinner).
This was the best star party I'm likely to go to - no celebrities in sight, but a bunch of astronomers and their weird and wonderfully shaped telescopes - some handmade, some very technological and expensive, and most big enough at full extension that we had to climb ladders to look into. Each year astronomers around the country have a "New Moon in June" festival where they head to national parks around the country while the moon is at its lowest so the stars can be seen at their best. Never mind that we could already see a gazillion stars without a telescope, but we had the most amazing education and insight into the world of astronomy. As if we didn't feel small enough already looking at the Grand Canyon today, we felt a whole new sense of perspective after this.
We saw;
- a cluster of stars
- Saturn - so clearly we could see the rings, the 4 moons and even its colours
- globular clusters of stars - a bunch of stars drawn together by gravity - believed to be the oldest stars known
- another galaxy
- a cluster of galaxies!!
- a nebulus ring - this was amazing - a sun-like star that was not large enough to explode fully, which appears like a donut - a large ring of dust and debris around the central core
- most popular to the kids(and seen without telescopes) the astronomers used lasers to point out stars, objects and moving satellites (showing us that spy satellites go north to south!)
This party was amazing and it was hard to drag ourselves off to bed - the astronomers were so passionate, patient, and generous with their time. They gave the kids NASA stickers and all declared they want to see our skies in Australia - what a fantastic night!!
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