Stars in the Night Sky over Pulau Sibu

Rimba Resort is a secluded retreat located on the northern tip of Pulau Sibu, an island about 10km east from mainland Malaysia. It is surrounded by hills on three sides, west, south and east, facing the sea at north, the resort offers a tranquil environment. Our sea view chalet is situated at the eastern end of the beach, steps away from the shallow shore.

It boasts dark and stary nights,  great for stargazing.

On Saturday (April 8th) night, after enjoying a delicious BBQ dinner, we walked out of the dinning lounge, were struck by how much darker it was than previous two nights there. Looking up, the sky was clear, and was filled with stars. We were mesmerized.

We took our beach towels and laid on the sand to gaze at the stars. 

Not familiar with the views of constellations near the equator, we could not tell which way the milky way goes, but it seemed to be in the orientation of northwest to southeast. We could see the Big Dipper clearly. There were three bright stars which caught our eyes because they lined up in a nearly straight line. They turned out to be the Orion's belt, also known as Three Kings or Three Sisters. The three stars are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. They showed up in stories of many cultures.

The three stars at lower left corner is Orion's Belt

As time passed, clouds moved in, made the night sky brighter than before. Many stars became invisible, but the three stars were still easily identifiable. 

The three stars at upper left corner is Orion's Belt

The phenomenon made me think. My hypothesis was that the clouds, especially white clouds, reflected lights from ground, and make the sky look brighter than when it is cloudless, exactly what we observed. We discovered the source of the light pollution, the town of Mersing on the main land.

We lingered on the beach for about one hour, enjoying gentle breeze, soft sound of waves, and the mystical night sky.

the light from town Mersing on mainland is the main source of light pollution