Mliečna cesta nad Glacier Point

Yosemite má najtmavšiu oblohu, akú väčšina amerických návštevníkov kedy videla. Polly to počula od Tomasa. Chcela to vidieť na vlastné oči.

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

Čakala celé popoludnie na Glacier Point, vyhliadke 970 metrov nad údolím. Malý dav sa zhromaždil kvôli západu slnka. Polly si sadla na zábradlie.

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.

Slnko zapadlo za hrebeň Sierry. Half Dome, na druhej strane údolia, zachytil posledné červené svetlo na svojej tvári a držal ho dvadsať sekúnd. Potom červená zmizla. Dav jemne zatlieskal.

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.

Parkový astronóm v hnedej veste postavil malý ďalekohľad. Rozprával, zatiaľ čo obloha tmavla. Vysvetlil, že väčšina amerických miest stratila Mliečnu cestu kvôli pouličným lampám. Ale v Yosemite, za jasnej noci, môžete stále vidieť to, čo ľudia videli tu tisíce rokov.

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.

Prvé hviezdy sa objavili jedna po druhej. Keď bola úplná tma, Mliečna cesta bola pásom bledého svetla, ktorý sa tiahne cez oblohu. Bola prerušovaná tmavými škvrnami, kde prachové oblaky zakrývali hviezdy za nimi. Najväčšia tmavá škvrna sa volala Veľká trhlina. Polly ju videla jasne.

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.

Astronóm nasmeroval ďalekohľad na malú škvrnu blízko Strelca. "Toto je centrum našej galaxie," povedal. "Supermasívna čierna diera v jej srdci je vzdialená dvadsaťšesť tisíc svetelných rokov."

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."

Návštevník sa pozrel cez okulár, potom ustúpil. Astronóm naklonil ďalekohľad, aby aj Polly mohla vidieť. Cez okulár bol hustý zhluk hviezd a prachu.

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.

Pred dvadsaťšesť tisíc rokmi svetlo opúšťajúce ten zhluk začalo svoju cestu k tomuto ďalekohľadu. Polly sa pozerala dlho.

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