Starry starry night

[Shayah]

I ventured outside tonight. Gorgeous! In the 60s with a slight breeze. I walked a couple of blocks to the local park and sat on a swing. A gentle back and forth brought the night sky into view on the upswing. Crystal clear and not a cloud in the sky. Hundreds of stars were twinkling above everywhere.

I remember my sister telling me that the majority of the twinkles we see in the night sky are relatively close stars, right here in our own galaxy. Our eyes can't detect many distant objects further out. Sis told me that a journey just to the center of our Milky Way galaxy would require about 25,000 light years :shock:

I read somewhere (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?) about a contraption that you could enter. When you sat inside you were surrounded by the vastness of the universe. A little arrow pointed to your location in this vastness and declared "You Are Here". No one exited that contraption with their sanity intact.

Tonight is actually struck me how vast the galaxy we live in must be. What lies beyond almost certainly defies human appreciation. Beautiful, extraordinary, and incredibly humbling.

 

[americanwoman]

I ventured outside tonight. Gorgeous! In the 60s with a slight breeze. I walked a couple of blocks to the local park and sat on a swing. A gentle back and forth brought the night sky into view on the upswing. Crystal clear and not a cloud in the sky. Hundreds of stars were twinkling above everywhere.

I remember my sister telling me that the majority of the twinkles we see in the night sky are relatively close stars, right here in our own galaxy. Our eyes can't detect many distant objects further out. Sis told me that a journey just to the center of our Milky Way galaxy would require about 25,000 light years :shock:

I read somewhere (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?) about a contraption that you could enter. When you sat inside you were surrounded by the vastness of the universe. A little arrow pointed to your location in this vastness and declared "You Are Here". No one exited that contraption with their sanity intact.

Tonight is actually struck me how vast the galaxy we live in must be. What lies beyond almost certainly defies human appreciation. Beautiful, extraordinary, and incredibly humbling.

It is always calming to just look up at the sky for me also. I have a ritual where every night (except when it's too cloudy ) I take my dogs outside around 10 pm and while they run around I sit on my porch and just look up at the stars and moon and reflect on things. I like to think of everything beyond us and how insignificant we are to the whole universe. The moon can be so breathtaking, whether it's just a little slice in the sky or a huge glowing ball shimmering the sky.
Your lucky to have your sister so close who can explain things in context to you. :mrgreen:

 

[Iriemon]

One of the most enjoyable books I read was called "The Stars" by H.A. Rey.

Amazon.com: The Stars: A New Way to See Them: Books: H. A. Rey

H.A. Rey was more famous for the "Curious George" children's books, but he was also into astronomy. His book is kind of a "constolations for dummies" book for people who want to learn a bit about the heavens and constalations without getting to much into the astrophysics. The stars are beautiful; but when you learn the constellations the sky becomes like a friendly map instead of a mass of random dots.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject.

 

[bub]

There is too much light at night over here, you can't see any star.

But when I went to Croatia I was amazed to see so many of them! That's beautiful!

 

[Iriemon]

There is too much light at night over here, you can't see any star.

But when I went to Croatia I was amazed to see so many of them! That's beautiful!

That is true. Modern light pollution destroys the night sky for anyone living near an urban area.

Another interesting factoid -- There are untold trillions of stars in the universe. But the naked eye can only see about 2000 of them.

 

[Iriemon]

One of the most enjoyable books I read was called "The Stars" by H.A. Rey.

Amazon.com: The Stars: A New Way to See Them: Books: H. A. Rey

H.A. Rey was more famous for the "Curious George" children's books, but he was also into astronomy. His book is kind of a "constolations for dummies" book for people who want to learn a bit about the heavens and constalations without getting to much into the astrophysics. The stars are beautiful; but when you learn the constellations the sky becomes like a friendly map instead of a mass of random dots.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject.

Better link to book: Amazon.com: The Stars: A New Way to See Them: Books: H. A. Rey

 

[Thorgasm]

Better link to book: Amazon.com: The Stars: A New Way to See Them: Books: H. A. Rey

Wasn't he murdered recently?

 

[Felicity]

Wasn't he murdered recently?

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Two_Charged_with_Murder_of_Curious_George_Author/3479482

It was the collaborator...H. A. Rey died in the 70s.

 

[jallman]

I miss being able to see the stars and the aurora at night. I was just sitting on the back patio last night thinking about that...how I will miss the beauty of the night sky now that it is washed out by city lights.

 

[cherokee]

I have been a stargazer since I was a child and took my dads old pair of binoculars and pointed them skyward. I was amazed by the amount of more stars I could see.
Since that day I have owned several store bought telescopes and so far I've built 3, the largest being a 24inch X 10foot reflector.

 

[Thorgasm]

I miss being able to see the stars and the aurora at night. I was just sitting on the back patio last night thinking about that...how I will miss the beauty of the night sky now that it is washed out by city lights.

I was lucky enough to see the aurora on a rare occasion in central illinois in 1990. It was amazing!

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

Can't really see to many stars in the city.

 

[bub]

That is true. Modern light pollution destroys the night sky for anyone living near an urban area.

And unfortunately this is probably the most "enlightened" country in the world: over 360 inhabitants/square km + every road (even in the campaign) is lightened (?) all night long (like Las Vegas but in orange only) = the sky is dark-orange