Constellation Viewing

　　A lecture was held by the third mate at 10 o'clock at night on the top deck. It was about constellations. About 50 participants were there. We were first told to close our eyes and keep them closed for a minute, and in the meantime all the lights on the deck were put out. The mate signalled, and I opened my eyes. I uttered some words or sigh-like sounds without thinking. I was in the midst of jet-black darkness and numerous stars were shining over me. The brightness of the moon near the horizon was a little nuisance, but I was able to see lots of stars. The story about constellations was really attractive. The mate had a detailed knowledge of the constellations, though I didn't think that Nippon Maru decided its route from the position of the stars. Stargazing might be an essential subject to become a mate.
　　I recalled something viewing the sky. On the same day 110 years ago, did people who were heading for Karafuto (Sakhalin in Russian) see the same sky? As the result of the Japanese-Russo War, Japan received the southern part of Karafuto starting at a latitude of 50 degrees north and the associated islands from Russia in the Treaty of Portsmouth signed on September 5th in 1905. This area was invaded and has been illegally occupied by Russia since 1945. I would get into the area next morning. I was on the border at that time on the Google Maps.

(Vocabulary)
constellation viewing 星座教室
navigation officer/mate 航海士
jet-black 真っ黒な, 漆黒の