Stargazing: Uganda's HUGE sky

I read an article in the New Yorker Magazine a few months ago about light pollution. Quite interesting. I learned all about a non-profit organization in New Mexico that advocates for more efficient use of lighting in cities and neighborhoods. In a rather dramatic way, the article emphasized the scarcity of places in the world where the night sky is uninhibited by the haze of electric lights. The night sky in North America is particularly diminished by this problem.

Then I suppose the sky I see in village I live in is a rarity these days. Let me just say that Africa sky is HUGE! The stars are incredible here – especially when the power is out and out neighbor’s high beam light is not on. The moon cycles catch my attention more vigorously in Uganda. Probably because I wander to the latrine every night and notice how dark or light the night is.

There’s no moon this week and the rains haven’t been too bad, so last night, David, Ruth and I went stargazing. David has a program on his computer that shows us exactly what the night sky should look like on any given day and from any given location. We typed in Kampala (oddly, we had no luck when entering Bumwalukani). Suddenly, our big big and dark dark sky became a game of dot to dot. I was in complete awe! We spotted all sorts of stars, constellations and planets. By finding Mars, we found Gemini. Then we connected to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Before I knew it, I saw Taurus, Cannes Major and Minor, the Southern Cross, the Milky Way, Orion, and so much more. Best of all, we found Cancer. It is best because it is my sign. Oh what a lovely evening we had in Africa!