Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2015, Page 20

But I power through anyway. For jour-
nalism.
Our destination is Hótel Rangá, a lit-
tle over an hour’s drive out of Reykjavík,
where members of Stjörnuskoðunarfé-
lag Seltjarnarness (the Amateur Astro-
nomical Society of Seltjarnarnes) go to
gawk at the skies, away from Reykja-
vík’s light pollution. During the pleasant
drive up, I learn from Anna that we’re
in luck, as the night offers some of the
best stargazing conditions one could
hope for, with clear skies and the sea-
son’s first truly cold weather.
And then, the moment I step out of
the car, I’m blown away. Free from the
city lights, I’m faced with what seems
like thousands of brilliant astral bod-
ies, before my very eyes! The Milky Way
itself is clearly visible, in that vibrant
manner you usually only see on photo-
graphs, which I always assumed to be
doctored and exaggerated. It is amazing.
A passion
We are met by our guide for the night,
Sævar Helgi Bragason, who heads the
society. He tells us a little about about
what they do and who they are. Their
board is composed of a scientist from
the university, a coast guard admin-
istrator, a graphic designer, and two
carpenters—all of them amateurs with a
passion for the stars. He then explains
that they have just installed two new
apochromatic refractor telescopes at
this very site, which are the most pre-
cise in all of Iceland.
Sævar leads us to a foldable roofed
cabin, about 150 metres away from the
hotel, and proceeds to give me and five
other visitors a quick guide to the night
sky. He tells us that a total of 5,000 stars
are visible to the naked eye from Earth,
while our galaxy contains some 400 bil-
lion. Looking through the telescope, I
see the Dumbbell Nebula, 1,360 light
years away. It looks like a faint astral
doughnut. Then I see the Andromeda
galaxy, 2.5 million light years away, and
then M81 and M82, a spiral and star-
burst galaxy some 12 million light years
away.
Like 'Battlestar Galactica'’s Brother
Cavil, I curse the gelatinous orbs in my
skull, which only capture a fraction of
the electromagnetic spectrum. I don’t
want to be human! I want to see the
countless unseen worlds that are hid-
den in what we humans perceive as
darkness! I want to smell the dark mat-
ter—I want to see the true colours of the
universe!
While this temporary Cylon insan-
ity washes over me, Anna and the
astronomers are hard at work taking
long-exposure photos. I eventually get
back to marvelling at what’s in front of
me. The stars shimmer amazingly over-
head. Satellites lazily slide across the
cloudless sky. Tiny particles burn up in
the atmosphere, appearing as shooting
stars. Northern Lights faintly appear
and fade away, amazing the group of
tourists nearby. The moon sets, and af-
ter a while I can tell the whole sky has
turned a few degrees.
Three hours pass, with hardly a
word spoken between me, Anna, and
the astronomers. And then, once my
toes are sufficiently frozen, we head
back.
Weeks later, I’m once again firmly
entrenched in Reykjavík’s hustle and
bustle. Every once in a while, though,
I look back up to the stars and am re-
minded of how much is out there, and
how incredibly little we know about it
all.
To the average Reykjavíking, the stars are nothing special. While travellers from bigger cities
are often awestruck when they gaze upon our winter sky—doubly so if the Northern Lights
are out—we’ll nod and stare at our phones some more. I’m a very average Reykjavíking, a
jaded city rat, and there’s nothing up there I haven’t seen before. Thus, when I find myself
tasked with accompanying photographer Anna Domnick on a stargazing venture late one
night in early September (for the sake of journalism!), I’m not particularly thrilled.
Photo
Anna Domnick
Words
Gabríel Benjamin
20 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16 — 2015TRAVEL
The Amateur Astronomical Society of Seltjarnarnes can
be found at Hótel Rangá on any night that offers the right
weather conditions. Visitors can step into their cabin,
free of charge, and get a tour of the night sky. Learn
more at www.astro.is, or Like or their Facebook page
(search for “Stjörnuskoðunarfélag Seltjarnarness”).
Free from the city lights, I’m
faced with what seems like
thousands of brilliant astral
bodies, before my very
eyes! The Milky Way itself is
clearly visible, in that vibrant
manner you usually only
see on photographs, which
I always assumed to be
doctored and exaggerated.
It is amazing.