Mliječni put iznad Glacier Pointa

Yosemite ima najtamnije nebo koje većina američkih posjetitelja ikad vidi. Polly je to čula od Tomasa. Željela je to vidjeti sama.

Yosemite has the darkest sky most American visitors ever see. Polly had heard this from Tomas. She wanted to see for herself.

Provela je poslijepodne na Glacier Pointu, vidikovcu 970 metara iznad doline. Mala skupina ljudi bila je tamo zbog zalaska sunca. Polly je sjedila na ogradi.

She waited out the afternoon at Glacier Point, an overlook 970 metres above the valley floor. A small crowd was there for the sunset. Polly perched on the railing.

Sunce je zašlo iza grebena Sierre. Half Dome, s druge strane doline, uhvatio je posljednju crvenu svjetlost na svom licu i zadržao je dvadeset sekundi. Onda je crvena nestala. Skupina je tiho zapljeskala.

The sun went down behind the Sierra ridge. Half Dome, across the valley, caught the last red light on its face and held it for twenty seconds. Then the red was gone. The crowd clapped softly.

Astronom iz parka u smeđem prsluku postavio je mali teleskop. Držao je predavanje dok je nebo postajalo tamnije. Objasnio je da su većina američkih gradova izgubila Mliječni put zbog ulične rasvjete. Ali u Yosemiteu, za vedre noći, još uvijek možete vidjeti ono što su ljudi ovdje vidjeli tisućama godina.

A park astronomer in a brown vest set up a small telescope. He gave a talk while the sky grew darker. He explained that most American cities have lost the Milky Way to streetlights. But in Yosemite, on a clear night, you can still see what humans have seen here for thousands of years.

Prve zvijezde pojavile su se jedna po jedna. Do potpune tame, Mliječni put bio je traka blijede svjetlosti koja se protezala nebom. Bila je prekinuta tamnim mrljama gdje su oblaci prašine blokirali zvijezde iza njih. Najveća tamna mrlja zvala se Velika pukotina. Polly ju je jasno vidjela.

The first stars came out one at a time. By full dark, the Milky Way was a band of pale light running across the sky. It was broken by dark patches where dust clouds blocked the stars behind them. The biggest dark patch was called the Great Rift. Polly could see it clearly.

Astronom je usmjerio teleskop prema maloj mrlji blizu Strijelca. "Ovo je središte naše galaksije," rekao je. "Supermasivna crna rupa u njegovom srcu udaljena je dvadeset i šest tisuća svjetlosnih godina."

The astronomer pointed the telescope at a small smudge near Sagittarius. "This is the centre of our galaxy," he said. "The supermassive black hole at its heart is twenty-six thousand light years away."

Jedan posjetitelj pogledao je kroz okular, a zatim se odmaknuo. Astronom je nagnuo teleskop tako da i Polly može pogledati. Kroz okular se vidio gusti skup zvijezda i prašine.

A visitor looked through the eyepiece, then stepped back. The astronomer tilted the telescope so Polly could see in too. Through the eyepiece was a dense cluster of stars and dust.

Prije dvadeset i šest tisuća godina, svjetlost koja je napuštala taj skup započela je svoje putovanje do ovog teleskopa. Polly je dugo gledala.

Twenty-six thousand years ago, the light leaving that cluster had started its trip to this telescope. Polly looked for a long time.