Right after the official opening of the new office, I decided to have a short break with the family and found gateway in Somogy county. Why there? To see the stars. But why there? Because Zselic is the less light polluted area of Hungary. And this is so romantic.
Zselic is a hilly woody area between Somogy and Baranya county, going South from Lake Balaton. Nature: flora and fauna. These are what we always need. We chose Kaposvár (chief town of the county) as a center of our rallye. The accomodation was a good choice, again; a lovely gallery apartment we adored. Even the approaching road is "singing" about the stars thanks to the grooves carved in the asphalt; it is a Hungarian hit song that everybody knows by Republic, Roadway #67.
On the first night we went to the Zselic Landscape
Protection area that hides many natural treasures - the night sky is one of
them. The area became internationally recognized in 2009 when the title of
Dark-Sky (or Starry Sky) Park was awarded by the International Dark Sky
Association, as first in Europe. The Zselic Park of Stars offers unforgettable
experiences about nature and the universe surrounding us. We could see even by
naked eye the wonders of the sky, such as the Milky Way and the view of
zodiacal light, phenomena which are not at all or only barely visible from
light pollution in most areas. Here, we can see ten times more stars like
anywhere else, because the light pollution is very little. It was a very
special exprience. The observatory is well inside the forest, so you have to drive
a few kilometers after turning from the main road and there is no light at all,
of course. Just pitch black everywhere as far as the eye can see. Even at the
parking area of the observatory. Even the observatory looks like it is closed.
Darkness is a must when man wants to study the sky with stars and planets. We
also could see several satellites. They were moving fast, steadily, looking and
moving much different than an airplane or a fallen star.
...to be continued...
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