A Big Dark Sky at Big Bend
Stars over Big Bend
We attended an event at the Panther Junction Visitor Center titled “Stars Over Big Bend.” It was led by two park rangers who taught us about the wonders of our solar system.
I am not an astronomy enthusiast like this crowd was, but I love looking up at the night sky and wondering about what I am seeing.
I learned a few things tonight. Yes, I was listening.
There are two north poles. The true north pole is the geographic north pole. Then there is the rotational north pole. The north star, Polaris, sits over the geographic north pole.
We can see other planets in the night sky. Right now in southern Texas, the ranger showed us how the planets are in a straight line as they all, including Earth, rotate around the sun. The ones we saw tonight were Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. The rest of the planets are on the other side of the Earth. I never knew these bright stars were in a straight line. I never knew we could see Jupiter and Mars. Now I know how to always find them.
Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) is one of the stars in Orion’s Belt. There are three in a row, and Betelgeuse is the one on top. Tonight we could plainly see that this supergiant star is glowing red. I have never noticed the red glow around this one before. He explained how this star is near the end of its life and will likely explode in our lifetime.
We watched the International Space Station (ISS) cross the sky above us. I learned that it circles 16 times per day. They see 16 sunrises and sixteen sunsets in one 24-hour period. It is orbiting the Earth 255 miles above us.
I asked how high an airline jet flies. The answer I received was anywhere from 6 to 15 miles above us.
The sky today was 100% clear, not one cloud in the sky; it was a beautiful blue. The night sky was 100% clear, not one cloud in the sky, but the full moon was so bright it was difficult to see some of the constellations. Because of the full moon shining so bright as the sunlight reflected off of it and back to Earth, my cell phone camera would not bring in the stars.
We are here for the whole month of February. I can’t wait to see the dark sky full of stars when the moon is not so bright. There is no light pollution here, so the stars are more visible to the naked eye.
If you like what you read, please clap and follow. We are traveling across the continental United States in our 38-foot RV visiting as many places as we can and I write about them. Come along on the journey with us.