Day 111: Take a peek, universe. 

I tagged along with a friend’s starhunt party at the UP-PAGASA observatory. I was told we had the best view because it was the most elevated place in the whole of Metro Manila above sea level. In fact, that was the reason why the observatory was built there in the 1980s.

Of course the skyscrapers would contend to that claim now, but how many of us can actually say we could see stars in the polluted metro skies when the buildings themselves obstruct each others’ views?

Last night, we pinned down our sights on Saturn and how he showed off his disks and thus was surrounded by his muses, his visible moons. We also saw Mars and his “spot” but what excited me more was to look at constellations to which we gave them stories when we didn’t know theirs.

A personal highlight was to search for our zodiacs and was happy to trace Scorpius, my sign. Unfortunately, my other fave constellation, Orion, has retired to the other part of the visible sky. But it’s okay, the others were there to keep us company.

In the face of this rigid scientific exploration, I could not deny the romantic undertones of peeking through the window of the universe. It is an exercise of acknowledging curiosity, a test in the darkness, and a swift chase on the drift of moving constellations. 

Tipong, habulin mo ako. Ganyan. 

By looking through those high-powered telescopes, I am reminded of how focus is defined. It was waxing nostalgic through science because we were looking into the past—after all, the star that is one lightyear away means that my eyes are looking at something that happened a year ago—because that is how long it took for the star to make itself seen to us.

To look into the past while being in the present is a form of visual time travel. And in the future, I shall remember this night with great pleasure.