Sounds in the Sky

Firstly I would just like to apologise for my lack of blogging yesterday. The University decided to turn off the internet and not really warn anyone. Unfortunately this lasted from 6pm until 6am, so my plan to write my blog in the evening was not going to happen.

Back onto what I wanted to discuss yesterday. I visited Stowe National Trust where I was told I was going to be stargazing for the evening. Even though I do not have a passion for astronomy I was still very interested. Mainly to learn about how the stars are positioned and the stories that they tell. Basically that is what I expected when I was asked to go. However, this was not the case.

The evening was called ‘Sounds of the Night Sky’ meaning, in a basic definition, we would be listening to the sounds of the stars. Not really what I expected but I didn’t want to turn around at that point.

We were guided on unflatten surfaces that had jam jars with tea lights around the outskirts. Our main source of lighting was a tiny key chain torch, which wasn’t very substantial, but did do the job. We were led up to the top of a field; actually we were led half way and then left to our own devices to make it to the top. When we got there 5 different pieces of machinery were placed in a circle to capture the sounds of the stars movements. There didn’t seem to be anyone to explain what actually was happening, which was quite disappointing.

After standing around for about an hour and a half, my hands had turned a very dark tomato colour and were extremely numb. That was the time to head back. It was supposed to last for 3 and a half hour but that really wasn’t going to happen when it was that cold.

Overall it was an interesting evening but definitely needed some more tour guides to explain actually what was happening.