![]() Please note this is a relaxed sightseeing tour rather than a professional astronomy based expedition. TIP! Bring a pair of binoculars and download your favourite stargazing app on your phone to enhance your experience on this tour. Return to Perth arriving at approximately 11.00pm. Once darkness falls, we head to the fishing town of Cervantes for our included dinner in a traditional Western Australia tavern to soak up a real Australian atmosphere before heading out into the night to experience the night sky. We return to the Pinnacles Desert to the observation deck to experience the tranquillity of the national park and view the night sky without light pollution. ![]() The Milky Way would look substantially similar.We head north away from the city towards Yanchep National Park for a quick comfort stop and an opportunity to see the koalas and kangaroos. From here we head up the coast towards the magical Pinnacle Desert to view the mystical limestone rock formations. Arriving late afternoon avoids the crowds and heat and allows for breathtaking sunsets. Experience the moon-like landscape come to life as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean and the moon rises. And if we look toward the center of the galaxy, we see some of the bulge poking up and down out of the disc plane, which is apparent in the structure of the Milky Way in the region of Sagittarius.īroadly, it wouldn't really matter where we were located in the disc of our galaxy. If we look in any other direction, we only see the much, much smaller number of stars that are above or below us in that plane. That is, we only see, densely, the other stars that are also in the plane of that disc. Because we're in the plane of a disc of stars, we see our own galaxy as a line. While we can, with some degree of accuracy, place ourselves in a map of our galaxy, it is easiest just to recognize that the galaxy is a flat disc with a bulge in the middle, and we're well out in that disk. I had thought we were on the outer edge of one of the spiral arms, but wonder how that jibes with the photo (?) The Pinnacles Desert at sunny day, Western Australia. Just wondering.if we see the Milky Way in this form (as an arc across the sky), where do we physically sit within it? Search from 1000 Pinnacles Desert stock photos, pictures and royalty-free images from iStock. Every boy scout knows that the shadow of the top of a stick stuck in the ground moves from west to east (especially near solstice). I would be willing to bet that if you asked anyone in charge of ancient agrarian society what the solstices (and often even the equinoxes) actually meant they would know. I would be willing to bet that if you asked a number of people now what the solstice and the equinox actually mean, many wouldn't know why the day is longer or shorter. That's not necessarily obvious if you're not paying detailed attention. The Pinnacles Desert of Nambung National Park is located just about 200 kilometres north of Perth in the Coral Coast region, between Cervantes and Jurien. ![]() That means enough astronomical observation to be aware of the existence of solstices and equinoxes. oh, and besides that, the picture is beautiful, even if composed.Įven if all it genuinely takes is two sticks, they have to know that there's something to be marked with those two sticks. It's about having enough astronomical knowledge to be aware of the need to get up early with your two sticks. This is not just about "two sticks and getting up early". Even the Greeks in Antiquity with their geocentric universe understood how the Moon shone. Heck, I have students who are just finding out that the Moon shines with reflected light from the Sun and couldn't figure out how the Moon could be illuminated by the Sun when it was on the other side of the Earth, and these are college students. I required my students to mark the position of the Sun at sunrise over the course of two months so that they could see the shift of location. That's not necessarily obvious if you're not paying detailed attention. That requires much more astronomical observations.Įven if all it genuinely takes is two sticks, they have to know that there's something to be marked with those two sticks. There is a Mayan pyramid that has exactly 365 steps to the top, and it also has a shadow of a snake on the staircase that can only be seen on the Solstice. That takes more planning than just two sticks. It was only off by a hundredth of a degree or so. Do you know that the Great Pyramid of Giza was perfectly aligned to north and east.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |