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The joys of astronomy – is it a hobby we can do when motorhome touring?
How many of
us have gone out on a clear moonless night and looked upwards at the myriad of
stars and celestial bodies above our head, to marvel at the vastness of the
universe around us?
Maggie and I have
been fortunate enough over the years to have seen some amazing night skies both
here in the UK and abroad and we would be hard pressed to choose which location
was the most spectacular. How do you compare the deep inky black skies above a
small Finnish ski resort, coloured by the faint reds and greens of shimmering
northern lights against the extraordinary big sky vistas of the Namib desert
where billions of twinkling stars appeared like photons of light escaping
through pin prick holes in the smooth black velvet fabric of space?
From looking
skywards from the garden of our rainforest lodge in Costa Rica, searching for visible
star clusters, glowing nebulae and shooting stars, (accompanied by the nocturnal
sound track of frogs and howler monkeys) to looking at Saturn, Jupiter and
various nebulae through 10”, 12” and 16” Newtonian Dobsonian Reflector
telescopes with local Gran Canaria island astronomers, we have often searched
out the beauty that is found within the celestial sphere above us.
For yes, our
skies above are a celestial sphere and it takes a little time to get your head
around this concept.
Imagine that
the interior of a model globe has been painted black. Suspended freely at the
centre of the interior is a green tennis ball representing the planet
Earth. The black inside surface of the
globe around the tennis ball has been divided into random jigsaw shaped pieces
– each piece having one of the 88 constellations painted on it. If we were on
the tennis ball looking up – we would see a ‘domed’ night sky above us with
constellations. That is the celestial sphere!
Surrounding
each constellation in our real celestial sphere above us, the other pin pricks
of light you can see are deep space objects associated with that particular
constellation. They are possibly millions of light years beyond the
constellation but because, from our visual viewpoint on Earth, they seem to be
in its vicinity, they are associated with that particular constellation.
Mind blowing isn’t it - a dome shaped celestial heaven above us - but what stunning beauty it is.
So, why am I
sharing this astronomical information with you on a blog purporting to be about
motorhoming?
As a child I wanted to be a naturalist, an explorer and an astronomer. I ended
up being a geography teacher and a traveller but that fascination with the heavens
has never left me.
Now with
retirement and more leisure time, I am returning to an interest that started
long ago, when I did my first solo night under canvas as a 9-year-old in the
Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia. I spent most of that night with my head out of the
tent, staring up at the skies above. How many stars were out there? How did
space form? How far could I go before I reached the edge? What was beyond
space? Who out there, was watching me, watching them, watching me? Why did
stars shoot across the sky?
Simple curiosity - it has never left me – and I hope it never will.
With a
motorhome, comes a unique opportunity. To take a telescope with us on our
travels.
Think of all
those dark sky campsites we often end up at. The stunning skies above Scotland
and Northumbria, the Brecon Beacons, Exmoor or down at Land’s End in Cornwall.
What
fantastic opportunities are there for some real stargazing and astronomical
curiosity?
I asked on
some forums whether there were any motorhoming astronomers out there but I had very
few replies. So, I have decided to do a series of posts about ‘astronomy from a
motorhome’. Since I am completely new to
this field of science and hobby, I thought it might be useful to start at the
very beginning, tracing my journey from researching about and buying a
telescope right through to using it for the first time when on tour with Bryony.
So, over the
next few months, a regular series of posts about ‘astronomy whilst on motorhome
tour’ will appear on this blog.
So, as a way
of introducing astronomy and motorhoming, I reflect on why astronomy might be
such a fun thing to do, whether it be from your back garden, local park, or
from your campsite somewhere in the UK or Europe.
Firstly, I
want to put the case that astronomy is often about finding and celebrating the stupendous
beauty in the celestial skies above our heads.
But, think how much more we would see and appreciate with an amateur telescope? Invisible deep space objects suddenly become visible and whilst an amateur telescope will never give us Hubble style images, our first sighting of the colourful Orion nebula or of Saturn’s rings, on our own telescope, will surely still leave us awe struck.
And who could
not be fascinated by the extreme dangers that lurk in our neighbourhood
of space? Immense supernova explosions, stars a million times hotter than our
own sun, black holes that crush entire areas of the universe. Then there are comets racing across the
heavens at hundreds of miles per second and tiny meteorites and rocks impacting
our own moon; or what about the intense, inconceivable cold temperatures and
vacuum of space, that ISS astronauts encounter on every spacewalk they do? Without our protective magnetic shield, how
much of our rich biodiversity would survive the extreme radiation? Yes, space is hostile, extreme and challenging
and for some of us that is fascinating in itself. A tremendous demonstration of
power surrounding us, that largely goes unnoticed.
From the time
humans started to walk on our planet, the heavens above have intrigued us. How
much human endeavour and curiosity has been expended over the centuries
on trying to better understand the stars?
From thinking the earth was the centre of the universe with all objects revolving around us to now proposing the existence of multi-universes, astronomers have slowly extended our thinking and scientific understanding. We are, as far as we know, one star with one life supporting accompanying planet in just one solar system and one galaxy amongst countless billions of others.
Astronomy has
extended our knowledge in physics, maths, philosophy, chemistry, biology.
Through astronomy we have realised our place within the universe and learned
more about how we came to be and how we are inextricably linked to it; for yes,
we are all made of stardust, every atom within our body made from the elements
that came from space.
When we look to the stars through our telescopes, we are not looking at that star or galaxy as it is now. We are seeing it as it was hundreds, thousands or even millions of light years ago, when photons of light left it and started travelling in our direction. Thus, the heavens give us a sense of time and insights into our own history.
Our story, our relationship with space – who we are, how we got here, how our planet formed and evolved – has been celebrated down the ages. The myths associated with constellation patterns or how stars guided our first explorations across great oceans and land masses; how they helped denote the start and end of our farming timescales or contributed to our language and culture. Or even more recently, the history of our exploration of space – the race to put a man in space, to orbit our planet, to land and walk on the moon. Here, now, at the start of the 21st century, we have sent probes to neighbouring planets and passing comets, building on those sent out in the 20th century, which have now cleared our very own solar system; still transmitting data from deep space.
On the back
of such human endeavours comes the key realisation that the destiny and future
of humankind still lies inextricably linked with space. As Elgon Musk and
others start to commercialise space travel and exploration, new jobs, new
discoveries, new scientific thinking and new branches of engineering evolve to
influence every aspect of our daily lives. Our navigation around the planet,
the billions of communications we send daily, all dependent upon our
understanding of space.
Perhaps, sooner
than we might anticipate, many of us will witness people walk on Mars, build a moon
base colony and possibly even leave our own solar system on humanity’s very
first ‘Star Trek’ into our own galaxy on board large rocket ships.
Now, with
all this in mind, who wouldn’t really want to take a telescope with them, to
explore the celestial heavens above whilst on their travels around the UK and
Europe?
In my next
post on astronomy and motorhoming, I will explore what kind of telescopes are
available for beginners and what kind of things you might want to consider if
you are thinking of taking up amateur astronomy. Remember, I am at the very start of
my own journey of discovery, so when I write, it is from the perspective of a
true beginner with no knowledge of the field. Where I can though, I will pass
on useful websites and article references for those who want to delve deeper.
In the meantime,
wherever you are, I hope you are safe and well. If you are able to travel in
your motorhome, enjoy it and remember, ‘take care out there’.
https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/home-garden/craft-hobbies/hobbies/beginners-guide-to-stargazing
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Hi, we always look forward to hearing your comments, tips and thoughts. Drop us a line or two below. Take care now. Steve and Maggie