Do you see stars? When was the last time?
I surprise myself every time I see stars. I don't know very much about them... no individual names or distances or numbers of any kind. I know some constellations and can make an intelligent guess at naming the brightest planets. Sometimes that impresses people, and I'm beginning to accept that I must be alone in looking up.
This past week I've been walking my dog at bedtime, and looking up. I live where I can walk out the door and on paved surfaces walk a 1/2 mile in the moonlight. There are few street lights so the milky way is visible and Orion is lying in his bed on the western horizon. I always check out the whole sky and identify as many constellations as I'm familiar with. I look around, and never have I seen anyone else out looking up. What a shame. There's so much to see.
I'm always happy to get home so I can view the sky, since I've found that most other places in the world, stars aren't visible. Cities, other lit areas, no... even if you're driving somewhere, do you get out and have a look? NO...
I was deeply disappointed that I couldn't view the night sky in the southern hemisphere. I really wanted to, and had several weeks of opportunities, but onboard a ship at night... It's a light factory! I managed to see the moon setting one evening, otherwise there's too much light. (Maybe the passengers on the doomed Carnival voyage got to see stars...) And my nights in downtown Sydney were either overcast or... light-infested as cities are.
I "heart" the SW skies...
One more funny story: Years ago, hubby and I were returning from Albuquerque LATE one night. We took one of the most lonesome highways home, with no services for a hundred miles. Out there somewhere, my hub had to make a pit-stop, so he pulled over, and I realized I better use the chance too, not wanting to stop again in another 1/2 hour. So we both got out, and did our thing without any disturbing traffic for miles, each of us on our separate sides of the van. I looked up... It was credibly beautiful. I've never seen such a display; like being in a planetarium only immense. When we got back into the van, we both said, "Did you see that?!" I don't use this word very often but that was truly "awesome".
Thoughts, tips and rambles about knitting and performance of music.
best night sky I have ever seen was from the deck of a small fishing boat with only a single light bulb hanging low near the engine, traveling between the coast of Turkey and the Greek Islands. I understood then why there are so many stories about the gods in the stars.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the star-lit sky as well! Maybe it comes with growing up or living in a really desolate place?
ReplyDeleteBut lots of people almost never look up at all, not only at night time. When they walk in a forest, in a city with tall buildings etc. Many people only see the pavement or whatever they're walking on - but it's so much more to see out there!
The stars surprise me too when I see them. Why I don't go out more often in the dark, I don't know. It is truly beautiful.
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