Last night was awesome for any astronomy lover living in the Indiranagar region of Bangalore. I didn't expect much before I actually went out. That being a residential area, from my Delhi experiences I couldn't believe when I saw all what I saw.
Big dipper was my first target. Straight in front of my door. I'm so down the latitudes the cavity of the spoon almost touched the horizon. Couldn't immediately see Polaris but knew exactly where it would lie. Just above my visible horizon. It really helps living at a terrace. Turning east I could immediately see Cygnus with Deneb and three other stars towards the swan's head. Alberio must have been very faint but I didn't make many attempts since a street light very close to that horizon was disturbing the experience.
Right above Cygnus shone Vega, in almost its full glory. The fifth brightest star lies in an interesting small constellation of five almost equally bright stars that relatively give it one of the most prominent appearances. It seems so blue. From the corner of my eye I saw Altair. Yay.
Looking further above I skipped everything minor only to be stopped by the magnificence of a shining Jupiter, close to what I made of the constellation Libra. I've never been able to see completely my own sun-sign. I've sky-watched previously in Bangalore, on my last visit. So I knew where to look next.
Turning south I was mesmerised. Scorpio is such a big constellation. Antares is so deeply red, it justifies its own name whenever you look at it. The two stars at the end of the scorpions sting are almost twins. To the left of them lies Sagittarius, the center of our milky way. I've only seen it so complete once or twice before. Always a miracle. These southern constellations are so high in these southern latitudes. I miss so many things back in Delhi. To the right of Scorpio was what I then imagined Centaurus would look like. I've never actually seen it. It later turned out to be Lupus the fox, although Centaurus was apparently sitting right next to it.
On top of me Arcturus and Spica gleamed. They serve as nice pointers for the whole sky during this period of time. I don't think I could feel the former's (a red giant) heat. Technically it should be equivalent to what a candle would cause, from about 8 miles away. Corona Borealis, the crown, always looks like one. Hercules the kneeling giant. Right next to the crown. So faint yet so majestic. Its a collector's item :-)
I dragged out Tushar now that I had absorbed most of what I could see. I showed him around everything I could tell him something about. Both my "young astronomer" awards belonged to this part of the sky. I started with the two dippers.. I could easily see the other one now. Also showed him Mizar and Alcor. I really don't understand what's so special about the pair though.
Showed him Vega. Easily the best of stars. Altair. Deneb. Jupiter (I just found out it was it).
Scorpion. Could see him interested for the first time. Sagittarius, Centaurus. Told him the story with Arcturus. And Spica.
His enthu gave me some boost. I ended up looking for, and finding, Draco, half of Virgo, Bootes, even Ophiuchus. Showed him the galactic plane, the pole. Explained him my technique for mentally finding out what kind of sky would be visible any time of the year. The only thing sun-signs ended up good for.
Went upstairs to the absolute terrace too. could see much farther down. Polaris finally there. Some stars I've never even seen before. Just got a star chart printed. Tonight's going to be fun.
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