Chapter 28
Two hours later, Beth hovered nervously in the lounge, peering through the glass doors to the large group of people gathered outside on the veranda ready for their evening of stargazing.
It was a far bigger audience than she had anticipated. She had never talked to so many people at one time and her stomach churned with nerves.
She glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantelpiece once more and realised that she needed to get started.
As she walked towards the doors on shaky legs, at least one thing made her smile.
Lily’s idea with the astronaut cut-outs had been a huge hit, especially once the helmet visors had been removed.
Everyone who had arrived at the hotel had all had their photo taken behind the cut-outs, their faces peeping through the helmets as if they were actual astronauts.
Lily had also added a small sign on the front of the astronaut suits saying ‘Maple Tree Lodge Star Tours’ which was the best marketing idea that Ella had ever heard of, when Beth had read her text a short time ago.
She took a deep breath as she switched out the lights in the lounge, still nervous about the size of the crowd. Could she really hold this many people’s attention at one time?
There was only one way to find out, she supposed, and pushed the doors open.
‘Good evening,’ she called out.
It was a bit of a squeeze out on the veranda but because it ran the length of the hotel everybody had a clear view across the water, as well as of the dark skies above.
She had asked Ben to switch off the veranda lights to help with the viewing, which he had done, and she was grateful for the clear night.
She cleared her throat and, for a moment, lost her nerve. As she glanced both ways along the veranda, she suddenly spotted Noah slipping out of the glass doors to stand nearby.
They locked eyes and he gave her a nod, as if reminding her of his words. ‘Just talk as if you’re only speaking to me.’
So she took a deep breath and began to speak.
‘Hi. My name is Dr Beth Jones and I’m an astronomer.
But this evening isn’t about trying to dazzle you with physics or scientific information.
It’s about showing you the wonder of the universe that we live in.
’ She smiled as she began to relax into her rehearsed speech.
‘When people in the ancient world observed the sky, they noticed wandering lights that behaved differently from the stars,’ she announced.
‘These objects in the sky traced steady paths across the heavens. Over time, each one received the name of a Roman god and that naming tradition formed the identity of the planets even into the modern era. In our solar system, there are eight planets. Each of these planets has been named after a Roman god or goddess. Who can name them?’
She was pleased when the correct answers were shouted back to her, and nodded.
‘That’s great,’ she carried on. ‘Roman astronomers, who observed the five visible planets with the naked eye, had identified each one by its movement and appearance before assigning each one with a god whose power matched what people believed the planet’s movement signified.
Saturn, which was visible only at great distance and moved slowly, became connected with the ancient god of agriculture and time. ’
She looked around at the people on the balcony.
‘Saturn is in opposition tonight. It’s one of the highlights of the observing year so you’ve timed this just right.
At the moment it should be lying about 30 degrees in altitude so we should be able to observe it.
Has everyone got their binoculars or a telescope?
I’ve got a couple that can be borrowed.’
The people all brought their binoculars and telescopes up to their faces and, with Beth’s guidance, were soon able to spot Saturn in the night sky.
Once she was happy that everyone had had their turn observing Saturn, Beth moved on.
‘Next is Jupiter which was always brighter and much larger than the other planets. And because of its size, the Romans gave it the name of the king of the gods.’
She gave everyone the altitude in which to see the planet which was on show that evening.
‘I love this beautiful ringed planet,’ said Beth, once everyone was looking in the right direction. ‘Who can spot its trademark creamy hue?’
There were murmurs of appreciation along the balcony so she carried on.
‘And what’s Saturn’s giant moon called?’ she asked.
‘Titan,’ came the shout from further down the veranda.
‘Well done!’ she said, nodding her approval. ‘Titan is in transit this month, working its way across the globe. Can you see it? Even with binoculars you should be able to spot it. And its rings as well.’
After the planet spotting, she moved on to the constellations as well as the moon itself, full and bright in the sky that night.
After ninety minutes had flown past, she asked if anyone had any questions.
‘What about Mars?’ a man asked. ‘Can we ever see that?’
‘You’ll have to get up early to spot it at the moment,’ she told him. ‘Probably from about 4 a.m. is the best time to see it. It doesn’t start rising until 1 a.m. so if you’re an insomniac you’re in for a treat! Oh, and next month it’s in close conjunction with Jupiter so keep an eye out.’
Beth heard a movement nearby and turned her head to see Lily slipping out through the glass doors to join them.
‘What about meteor showers?’ asked someone else.
‘We’ve missed the Orionid meteor shower this year, I’m afraid,’ she replied.
‘That peaked ten days ago. Did you know that it’s due to debris left by Halley’s comet streaking across the sky?
Isn’t that wonderful? However, you’ve still got time to see the Leonids.
That’s next month and one of the most prolific annual meteor showers over a couple of nights.
It’s got fantastically fast and bright meteors which can be seen with the naked eye. ’
There was a murmur of approval around the veranda.
‘And will you be able to talk us through that next month?’ asked a lady standing nearby.
Beth was temporarily lost for words. She hadn’t really thought beyond that evening or considered anyone would want to hear from her again.
‘Absolutely,’ said Lily in a brisk tone accompanied by a bright smile. ‘We’ll have all the details on our website but yes, we will be running special stargazing meteor events for those nights.’
Everyone looked pleased and as Lily invited them all into the bar to warm up, Beth was pleased that everyone thanking her was also saying that they had enjoyed themselves and would be back to see the meteor showers.
Once they were finally alone on the balcony, Beth looked at Noah before sagging against the balustrade.
But still she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
She had enjoyed sharing her passion for the stars, something which she had never experienced face to face before that evening.
She knew that her magazine column and blog had great feedback and yet to pass on that knowledge in front of a crowd of interested faces was something entirely new.
She loved interacting with people and it had been a great experience.
‘Well, this is all your fault,’ she told him.
‘It usually is,’ he replied. ‘Looks like you might have that new job you’ve been searching for.’
‘Maybe I have. I suppose I’d better buy you a drink to say thank you,’ she replied, holding the door open for him.
As she followed Noah inside, Beth took one last look at the night sky and couldn’t stop herself from smiling with pride at a successful evening, as well as excitement too at what the future might hold for her.