A trip to the Cosmos Centre in Charleville is something that
should be on everyone’s list. We had an entire day there and just scratched the
surface. It is possible to have individualised tours but we found the standard
sessions were enough. (I must tell you Anna, that you and Lionel are remembered
there. I’m not sure if that is a good thing.)
We began with sun viewing. Through special eclipse glasses,
the sun looked not much brighter than the moon. But through the telescope, it
was a different matter. We could see sunspots and solar flares. The flares seemed
like wispy threads. You know how they say, ‘You should have been here yesterday’?
Well, apparently we should have. During the sun viewing that group saw a flare
that was approximately 150 000 km long and visible for a couple of hours – long
enough for all the staff to have a look and to notify other centres.
A couple of hours of self-guided browsing gave lots of
information. Cory is very methodical and had to press every button and listen
to every video. We were well prepared then for the night viewing sessions. We
went outside with a guide initially and were given an introduction to the night
sky. Then a preparatory video was followed by viewing outside through four telescopes.
There was a perfectly clear sky and the moon hadn’t risen – ideal viewing
conditions. You’d think we’d be ‘starred out’ by then. However, we were given
some homework. We have been out each night locating certain stars. Once we have
them under control, we’ll learn some more.
Twice we have seen a satellite while we were star gazing.
The other night we had just seen one and, within a few minutes another two. We
were pretty impressed. Later I realised that the second two were moving in the
wrong direction to be satellites. They were probably planes at maximum height
heading for Singapore.
Photos
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