My Options Journal

16 October 2009: Fieldtrip! -- Starry starry night

Part 1: Singapore Science Centre Omnitheatre, film on Van Gogh.
A sculpture I did in Sec 2 Aesthetics class as a response to Van Gogh's Starry Starry night:

Part II: Stargazing at NUS Field
Not this kind of stargazing...

but this!

We saw Jupiter, Anatares, some satellites and a bit of the Scorpio.

Due to Singapore's particularly bright night landscape, it is usually too bright to spot many of the planetary bodies, stars etc etc.

The students and lecturers there were extremely helpful, it was nice of them not to view as secondary school girls as a nuisance. One of them even patiently taught us how to focus the telescope.

Of course, there were limits to the telescopes as well. However, it made us question how hard it was for ancient astronomers to observe these planetary bodies and the amount of effort they had to put in, especially considering the fact that they didn't own technology like what we have today and lived during the B.G. (Before Google)

Speaking of Google, Mr Tee's phone had this amazing software which could identify the specific locations of the planetary bodies in the night sky even though we couldn't see them (with or without the telescope).

It was really quite fascinating to see the various constellations reflected on the phone screen when it was held up against the sky. :O

Revisiting the question we raised during lesson one (Whether beauty needs to be experienced first-hand), I think that technology has inflitrated our lives in such a way that it can greatly aid us in identifying and capturing the beauty in nature. Sometimes it even accentuates the beauty.

It was a strange feeling looking at the phone screen scattered with stars/other planetary bodies and then relooking at the almost pitch-dark and empty night sky.

Even though we couldn't see much, it was certain that the stars were out there, at the very locations pin-pointed by the software. It was probably only a matter of distance, brightness and equipment.

Knowing that the various stars are just there without question despite us being not able to see them -- somehow that encapsulates some form of beauty Nature possesses. The nature of being mysterious yet at the same time all-encompassing.