Night Sky

Rick has a fascination with the stars and night skies.  We  watch the constellations move in the night sky  and try to identify them using an app on his phone. The constellations and stars we see in Bonaire are different than the ones in Colorado. 

Most recently we stayed up late to watch the lunar eclipse. It was so cool to see the orange moon and the shadow pass over it. We had a very clear night which is a rarity recently because of cloud cover and dust storms.

Bonaire also has areas with no city lights.  When it is dark it is really dark.  This enables us to see not only a bright orange moon but also the Milky Way.

One of our fascinations is seeing the southern Cross which lies at the southern end of the Milky Way band. We only see it this time of year as it is usually below the horizon. It appears in the southern sky low on the horizon.

The cross serves as a convenient pointer to the south celestial pole, making it useful in navigation. The constellation has been used as an insignia on the flags and stamps of many southern hemisphere nations, including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and regions of Chile and Argentina.

Every time I see the Southern Cross in the sky I recall the lyrics of the song by Crosby, Nash and Young:

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time

You understand now why you came this way