Fireflies and unfamiliar constellations

Southern Cross image from University of Chicago library

 
My recent trip to Costa Rica was the first time I'd seen fireflies. Returning to our little beach cabin at night (after 6:15 pm), we would see myriads of them among the palm fronds and other vegetation that leaned across the winding path to our door. I was astounded by their brilliance.

The stars were brilliant too, and we craned our necks to look at them. But in the garden there were too many lights nearby, and too many fronds blocking our view.

Only one thing to be done. On our last evening in Playa Guiones, Linda and I decided to wait for dark on the beach. We'd lie on the soft sand and gaze up at the unfamiliar constellations.

Though neither of us was knowledgeable about stars, we noticed how different the sky appeared. After most of a lifetime of in a certain latitude, the watcher knows when the stars do not appear in quite the same configurations, even if the original skyviews remain vague in the mind.

The stars at 10 degrees north do not look the same as they do here at 49 degrees. Hoped in vain to see the Southern Cross, which is theoretically visible from CR, very low on the horizon and only at certain seasons and odd times of night. Guess I'll have to go to Australia after all.