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Telescope Field |
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The open sky is not pitch black. It is actually a large diffuse light source, which illuminates the world at the very limit of human perception. You can see this most easily when you are dark-adapted and can hold your hand up against the sky. It will be in deep silhouette; the sky will be light gray in appearance! It's enough light to keep from stumbling (over even ground) and enough to find familiar shapes and people in a sea of telescopes and equipment. Navigating the sea brings you past islands of nocturnal activity. It is an interesting experience. As you move around, there is a buzz of conversation in the dark. The tone is one of a controlled but urgent enthusiasm, overlapping verbal notes of the visual experience at the eyepiece, comparisons between telescopes, recollections of past views, advice and suggestions, and a large collection of expressions of awe. It's odd, walking in the dark and hearing chatter all around; people not seeing each other but nevertheless communicating their love for the night sky. Some areas of the sea are augmented by music. Somehow rock-and-roll, new-age, and classical all share the field without aural conflict. One fades to the next as you roam the ocean of sound. The sea is red, illuminated by the dim LED flashlights used to read star charts and find focus knobs. The red light preserves your visual sensitivity while inspecting the faint fuzzies in the eyepiece. This is common knowledge among amateur astronomers, but must seem strange to other visitors. This 1-hour exposure includes a trail evidently made by an arm-waving enthusiast wandering past the open shutter of the camera.
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