19 July 2023 - Octopus in the Sky

"I found something in the sky!" A boy named Artur exclaimed, bubbling with the joy of discovery.

"Really? Show me!"

"Here, look! It’s like an Octopus in the Sky!"

I bent down and peered through the telescope, and sure enough, there was an object dancing in the sky like an octopus floating gracefully in the sea. Its arms, much like the tentacles of an octopus, spread out wide in an expanse of stellar dust and gas, swirling into a seemingly eternal dance.

What he discovered was a cluster of stars known to astronomers as 'The Butterfly Cluster'. Through the eyes of this young boy, it took on a new, enchanting form of an 'Octopus in the Sky'.

An image of the 'Octopus in the Sky' we took that night.

It was a delight to see the boy's face light up with pure joy as he made his fascinating discovery. This radiating happiness was a reflection of the most genuine forms of human curiosity, discovery, and imagination. This moment encapsulated the very essence of exploration - the endless quest to know the wonders of the cosmos, a reminder of why we gaze at the stars, wonder, and explore.

Using technology, we were able to capture images of celestial bodies so distant and faint that they eluded our naked eyes (credit to Cristina, Artur, Micaela, Bruna and Catarina for taking the deepsky images). Among these celestial treasures was the stunning Trifid Nebula (a star-forming region painted with striking hues of blue and red); Alpha Centauri( an astonishing cluster of around 10 million suns); the Sombrero Galaxy (a striking galaxy that, from our viewpoint, bore an uncanny resemblance to a UFO); the Whirlpool Galaxy (a breathtaking image of two galaxies locked in a cosmic dance); the Carina Nebula (a colossal cloud of dust and gas, cradling millions of stars); and the Lagoon Nebula (a gigantic gas cloud light up by extremely hot, young stars formed within the nebula itself).

Micaela waited for a record-breaking 1000 seconds to take this image of NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy known as “the twin of our own Milky Way Galaxy”.

In addition, many guests took photographs beneath the Milky Way. The celestial tapestry of stars acting as their backdrop, the glowing trail, created a captivating scene that perfectly encapsulated this unforgettable night. In ancient Chinese poetry, the Milky Way is often depicted as a silver river cascading from the heavens, and looking at the pictures, one can certainly appreciate the inspiration behind such an evocative description.

Later in the evening, we directed our gaze towards the magnificent Saturn, the jewel of our solar system. Adjusting the focus of our telescope, we marveled at the beauty of the gas giant, with its distinctive icy rings glowing against the black expanse of the cosmos.

In a bid to preserve this breathtaking view, we decided to record a video of Saturn. The sight of the ringed planet moving across the screen was incredibly fascinating. It felt as if we were peering through a portal to another part of our solar system, watching Saturn in its graceful celestial waltz. This cool video, a testament to the wonders of our universe, added another mesmerizing chapter to our astronomical adventure that night.

[Video to be added soon]

Date: 19 July 2023

Location: Zebra Stone Litchfield, Northern Territory, Australia