Star Gazing

so i brought a group of students to this Astronomy night thing organised in conjunction with the International Physics Olympiad. thing is, i know very little about astronomy. i wasn't able to tell them where each constellation was or where which star was. so i made it up as i went along. i told them what i could. i told them about astrophysics. gave them short explanations of how energy is generated from fusion, how the fusion process creates other elements and how we are thus the children of the stars, made from star dust. it was unfortuante that i couldn't add more value to the trip. however, they did manage to see some stars, using some of the more powerful telescopes that NUS people brought. they also managed to see Jupiter, with its 4 moons, using our own telescope.

the whole trip reminded me of the last time i was star gazing. i was in Peru, doing the Macchu Picchu trek. it was the last night of the trek, we were at this place called Puyapatramarcha, which translates as "The city at the edge of the clouds". it was at about 4000m above sea-level. the reason it was named thus was clear as the sun set. by about 5, the clouds were at our level, making everything misty. and when the sun has completely set, the clouds were way below us. the sky was full of stars, as if someone splashed them across the canvass of the night. the light from the stars and the moon gave the clouds a greyish silvery tone, making it look like a rolling, shimmering sea. there were occassional mountain peaks peeking above the clouds, like little islands.

it was cold. very cold. and quiet, except for the wind. and the skies, full of stars, seem to stretch on forever. i remember sitting by the entrance of my tent, staring up in awe, thinking of the enormity of the infinite space. i remember imagining us, a tiny speck, silently hurtling through the empty space. i remember feeling really small, insignificant.

it was one of the most beautiful experiences that i've had.