Seeing New Constellations

September 19, 2021

Seeing New Constellations

Ever since we came up to Chiang Mai, I've been stargazing on nights when we have clear skies. It's something I really appreciate about where I currently am. Chiang Mai is not only a province in the north of Thailand but it's also a province full of mountain ranges. It's a nice and elevated platform for watching stars. It's a bit funny how Ying kept telling me about the visibility of the stars from here on our way to this home. However, I must admit my initial disappointment with the amount of visible stars on our first few nights. This was due to a childhood experience of going with my grandma to visit my uncle in the city of Çerkezköy, Turkey. This was the first time I had seen so many stars in my life. The night sky was blanketed by endless stars.

Eventually, my disappointment faded when the stars became clearer and clearer over the next couple of weeks. These days, I try to go out every night to see the stars. Before I started writing this, I checked the night sky once more but it was too cloudy to see anything. Yesterday night was cloudy too but you could see the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn shining through. I've been using an app called Sky Map to help me identify celestial objects and constellations.

I actually hadn't realized how much I enjoyed stargazing out here. It hit me especially hard over the last couple of days in light of developments from Canada. My dad had asked me to return to Canada to help him out with his business at the beginning of the month. It didn't really seem like it was going to happen until a few days ago when he asked again. This time, I considered returning with much greater intensity. And as I thought of returning, I also realized just how blessed I was to be where I was.

I'm sad that I'm unable to help my dad in his time of need. In the end, I made a decision based on the fact that a pandemic is still quite active all around the world. I've been a home-head ever since the pandemic started to directly impact where I was. I had to say no to baba. I'm not proud to have had to decline. However, these 2-3 days of considering the offer helped me realize the ease and well-being of where I am. I started thinking of all the things I would miss here. The constellations that I've been oba-observing out here came to mind as things I would miss as well.

You see, the constellations that I've seen here weren't visible to me back in Canada. Back in Canada, we could clearly see Ursa Major (aka the Big Dipper), Orion, and the Pleiades. I'm sure there were more but these were the ones I could easily recognize on any given night in Windsor. Here, I've been introduced to some new constellations. The thought of leaving them behind made me want to express my appreciation for the Creator's art in the night sky. And I wanted to honour the new constellations that I've been introduced to here.

Scorpius and Sagittarius were the first two constellations I learned to recognize here. I can see them on most nights if enough clouds are out of the way. Cygnus, Lyra, and Cassiopeia are three other constellations I can see on most clear nights. And it would have to be a very clear night, completely void of clouds, for me to be able to see Aquila. On top of these, I had the pleasure of seeing Cepheus, Perseus, Aries, and Triangulum for the first time the last time there was a very clear night. That night, I was out later than usual and that helped me see these additional constellations which would otherwise be situated behind the house until about 2am.

I love the feeling of solace I get when I'm able to observe these constellations on a clear night. I appreciate having seen them out here. They weren't quite visible from Hatyai. The fact that we're in a little village by the mountains played an instrumental role in allowing me to see these constellations for the first time. I don't have enough words to express just how thankful I am to have seen these groups of stars.

Speaking of stars, Vega and Arcturus are among the brightest stars in the night sky. Arcturus emerges shortly before sunset right over the horizon. It doesn't stay out for long and eventually Vega, aka Alpha Lyrae - the alpha of Lyra, becomes the brightest star on the sky stage. Antares, aka Alpha Scorpii, is another bright star illuminating the night sky. Not many other stars dominate as much as these three do. I suppose Deneb, the alpha of Cygnus, comes close but it doesn't really shine with the intensity as the other ones do - especially with Vega commanding great radiance close by.

On top of these stars and constellations, there are also the constellations I've gotten a glimpse of. For example, I remember seeing Lacerta and Pegasus to some degree. On top of that, Hercules and Ophiuchus are supposed to be visible but their stars aren't bright enough for me to actually get a clear picture of the whole constellation. Even on a very clear night, I can see these big constellations on the Sky Map but I can't see them with my own eyes. Maybe if my neighbours didn't leave their lights on at night, I could. I'm kidding but in reality, I would love it if ALL my neighbours (everyone in the village, for example) turned off all the lights. Then these dimmer constellations would come to the fore. Perhaps, I need to revisit Çerkezköy.

Here are some images of the constellations that I've recently met out here. They're in alphabetical order. All of the images came from the website of the International Astronomical Union. I liked how consistent all of the images were. Please enjoy the images of these constellations, the great works of art courtesy of the universe.