The Chronicle Herald - Trout Point Lodge: A great place to go stargazing

To be honest, I didn’t even want to go stargazing.

After a long drive, followed by paddling a canoe up and down the Tusket River and a five-course meal with wine, what I really wanted to do was stay in my comfortable bed.

But virtually every guest at Trout Point Lodge takes advantage of the complete absence of light pollution to gaze into the sky (many come just for that purpose) and I had promised, so at 11 p.m. I dragged myself off to join Alex Putz, staff astronomer, at the stargazing platform.

It was the right decision. We happened to be at Trout Point on a cloudless night and even with the naked eye, the sky was spectacular. It’s clear to see how the Milky Way got its name — the sky is dominated by long, wavy beautiful shapes that look, well, milky. Mars glowed red on the horizon, while higher up I saw a shooting star and a satellite.
But when Putz fired up his giant telescope, the show really started. He showed me Andromeda, the galaxy next to the Milky Way, then Jupiter and Saturn, its rings clearly visible. On some nights, Putz guides eight or nine guests through the universe. I was the only one stargazing this night, and I wished I’d gotten my wife out of bed; this is a unique experience.

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