An Evening Under the Stars
THE HEAVENS
3/3/20263 min read
One of the best things about living here are the clear night skies, for we are far away from any significant light pollution. Even the street lights in our tiny village are switched off at midnight. So when B. learned that on Saturday February 28th, and in the days to follow, five planets would be aligned in the night sky he became determined to get the best view he possibly could from the top of the mountain that rises above us. "We'll go up early so that we can enjoy the sunset first," he suggested. The planets would be at their most visible shortly afterwards. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be easy to see with the naked eye, although to see Neptune and Uranus one would need a telescope, or a pair of binoculars, We set off in our trusty old four wheel drive, to follow the forest road. We didn't have to climb far before the rest of the world vanished behind us. We climbed on tracks where only the foresters vehicles should go. Not too far from the top , we came to a sudden stop.
As one does in France, we drove on a little further. Sometimes in these conditions, one finds that the obstacle is minor, or may even have been already removed. The road beyond that point does become more steep and is sometimes strewn with small rocks, so we were cautious. When we encountered a second route barrée sign, and a chain stretched across the road, we gave up and turned back, fearing that there may have been an avalanche. This forest is criss crossed with roads, so we headed for the summit a different way, walking the final bit to where the view stretched out before us towards the mediterranean sea.
Mont St. Louis at Sète rises out of the distant mist.
It was a beautifully clear evening, although the lack of clouds meant that the sunset was not spectacular.
Lac Salagou is popular with tourists in summer . Powered boats are not permitted.
As the sky began to darken we retraced our tracks to find the best place we could for star gazing. The waxing gibbous moon shone brightly from the darkening sky, and as we passed beneath the cliffs of the Serre de Mélanques they glowed red in the setting sun.
We parked the car in the Champ du Lac, a wide flat area high up on the plateau. In this way we could enjoy a panoramic view. One by one the stars began to appear, but sadly they weren't very bright because of the competition from the moon. Nonetheless the minutes we spent stargazing here were utterly magic , and somehow the fact that all those planets were aligned, felt rather special even if we could only see Jupiter and Venus. We shall certainly return.
One by one the stars appear.