Saturday night in Rubyvale traded sapphires for stars. Wrapped in coats against the outback winter cold we spent hours beneath impossibly dark inky skies and a very present, vivid, brimming with stars milky way. To say it was chilly would be accurate. To say we cared very little because the evening was so memorable would be even more accurate.
At first Michael – gemstone miner by day passional astronomer my night, shared his knowledge of planets, nebulae and galaxies a little cautiously, almost testing the waters to see whether his small group of rugged-up visitors were genuinely interested. But once he realised the six of us gathered in the stillness had no intention of heading back inside anytime soon, his pace shifted entirely. Suddenly we were no longer standing beside telescopes with a gemstone miner — we were standing with an enthusiastic professor guiding us through galaxies, constellations and light years with the energy of someone sharing something they still wondrous. His enthusiasm like a boy who has read books about it for years, but like this was his first night ever looking up at the fullness of an outback night sky.
There is something slightly unsettling about looking through a quality telescope for the first time, or even first time for sometime. Not frightening… just humbling. You become aware, very quickly, of how much exists beyond what you know or understand. Yet at the same time it feels strangely intimate — peering deeply into something ancient, distant and usually invisible to the naked eye.
In some ways, it felt oddly similar to fossicking through gravel earlier that same day. Both require patience, observation and a willingness to look more closely. Both reveal unexpected beauty hidden within darkness and dust.
One of my favourite moments of the evening was viewing the open star cluster in the constellation Crux known as “The Jewel Box” — a fitting name considering where we found ourselves that weekend.
Eventually even Michael and his six temporarily-appointed galaxy protégés began losing the battle against the cold. With another pre-dawn start awaiting us the next morning and an entire day of driving still ahead, we reluctantly called an end to the evening and wandered back through the crisp night air toward our cabin.
To Hold & To Have
To Hold & To Have 