Zodiacal Light!

It's another astronomical phenomenon you see only every decade or two - unless of course you live somewhere with crispy clear air and very dark skies well away from cities. 

I first saw it properly on my first visit to the west coast of Tasmania many many years ago, and here it was again in mainland Australia's Red Centre, over a thousand kilometres from any major city.

It's a cone-shaped patch of light, extending upwards from the sun's position, an hour or two after sunset. It doesn't follow the line of the celestial equator, or of the galactic plane, but instead it points up along the ecliptic, the line of the solar system's plane. Here we're looking at Zodiac constellations Leo and Cancer. It was long ago deduced that the only explanation for this is that it's reflections of sunlight on the myriad of particles of dust, meteorites, and lesser minor planets that inhabit that plane. It's a very faint glow, and is thus only visible in these ideal conditions these days.

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Our very own galaxy, just overhead

One of my abiding memories from my first central Australian excursion shortly after arriving in Australia many years ago, was the shock and awe of the night sky. Stars like never before, and in July and August, when the air is as clear and dry as it can be, you look up and this is what you see!

So I wasn't going to miss out on a repeat viewing session during our trip last month, and I wasn't disappointed.

In other parts of the world you can see stars, you can even see the Milky Way if you're lucky. In central Australia the Milky Way reveals itself as precisely what it is - a giant spiral galaxy, with its central bulge partly obscured by dark clouds. The galactic centre is in Scorpio and Sagitarius, and these are right overhead in the evening sky. We're looking in from the outer suburbs, but clearly the centre is where most of the action is.

In other directions the Milky Way isn't as bright, as there's less of it between us and its edge. Here's the view in the direction of the Southern Cross (above centre), and the Pointers, to its left. You can also see the Coal Sack (the dark nebula just to the left of the Cross), and several of the bright naked eye clusters of Carina (centre right). All sitting there above the escarpment near Glen Helen Gorge.

It's very dark out there, and very few cars come by anyway, so nobody saw me lying in the middle of the road, flat on my back, taking in the view!

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Uluru

Uluru. Iconic, sacred and just plain awesome. Massive too.  Much, much bigger than I expected. Organic in shape, it bulges and folds like a gigantic ancient creature that has simply sat down in a vast desert garden. I say garden because that is exactly what the surrounding country looks like. Desert foliage is surprisingly soft in appearance, both in texture and colour and when seen in combination with the red of the earth and rock...well, there really are no words to describe it.
  

Visitors are not encouraged to climb Uluru and I have to say I wasn't tempted to.  It was enough for me to do the 10.6 km walk around the base and see it close up. There were a few extra sacred sections which couldn't be photographed.  Interestingly those parts were the most worn and scarred, the markings giving rise to many mythical stories and sacredness that the traditional owners, the Anangu people, are keen to maintain. In one section there is a series of small caves, each one a type of classroom; some with drawings on the walls to illustrate stories and journeys, and some for practical skills like hunting. A small waterhole nearby is also held sacred.

Later we joined a large throng at the sunset viewing strip. It was a joyous evening of champagne picnics, children's laughter and cameras clicking as the sun drew away and darkness fell on this amazing red rock.

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