For as long as I can remember, the night sky has always held a fascination for me. As a young child, I can remember looking up at the inky blackness, the twinkling pinpoints of light, and the slowly changing night-light known as the moon, and just wondering. Nothing specific, just that all-inclusive sense of wonder when you see something you don't fully comprehend.
I remember being a little older and being allowed to be outside after sunset. I would sit or lie somewhere looking up and let my mind wander, imagining what was out there and what it all meant. Such deep thoughts for such a young man! When I discovered the concept of UFO's they became part of my sky watching routine and although I saw a ton of airplanes, the little green men eluded me all those years.
Another favorite thing for me were the annual meteor showers that would grace the heavens at certain times of the year. The place where I grew up had a lot of street lights so the visibility wasn't great, but it was better than it is now and I saw my fair share of spectacular shooting stars. I also endured chilly nights in the winter, mosquitoes in the summer and the occasional nocturnal wild animal. And I wouldn't have changed a thing.
In my early teens I began having regular nighttime campfires in my backyard with friends, complete with marshmallows, hot dogs, ghost stories and kids being stupid (Flinging flaming marshmallows over your neighbor's fence at night is not a good idea). Those campfires were my favorite night time related memory. My family lived in a residential area so there wasn't much wilderness around and the campfires made it feel like we were out in the woods.
Other memories that come to mind are trick-or-treating on Halloween night and seeing the whole neighborhood lit up at night during Christmas. Do you have any fond memories relating to the night sky? Does it have any sort of effect on you? When was the last time you went outside after dark and just looked up?
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7 comments:
Hi Krys
Great topic! I love the night sky as well. The flaming marshmallows made me laugh.
My girls and I love watching meteor showers eclipses of the moon. We have a telescope, but we are new at it so we have a hard time finding anything but the moon. I blow a kiss to the moon every time I look up and see Her face shining down on me.
Hi Krys,
I also love the night sky. Every time I go outside after dark, I look up.
When I was in Middle School, I was fortunate that our school had a planetarium. Most kids would look forward to that class so they could do bad things in the dark (like throwing things and making out). I loved that class because I got to learn about the various constellations. I was amazed.
Now, as an adult, I still look up and see which constellations I can find and I try to remember all of their names.
It absolutely blows my mind that there is no end to space. It just goes on and on and on. I can't even begin to imagine the multitudes of other universes out there and I think it's exciting to think that maybe one day, the people of the blue planet will be able to venture to far far away places!
Great topic!
SIS Bren
BJ,
I forgot all about lunar eclipses, thanks for reminding me! And flaming flying marshmallows are kinda neat until they stick to a tree while still on fire. Stick with the telescope, it's so worth it and it gets easier the more you use it.
Brenda,
How could I forget planetariums? I used to go to the one at the college I graduated from. I still know a few constellations by heart and even a few planets.
Thinking about the vastness of outer space and thinks like black holes, wormholes, and alternate universes is both awe inspiring and mind blowing at the same time.
I live in the Florida Keys, on a harbor, so at night there isn't a lot of light pollution from big buildings. I can sit out in the yard, look up, and see 100X the number of stars that I might elsewhere. Glorious!
I particularly like the August period of the Perseids meteor showers. I'll set my alarm to go out in the middle of the night on the peak viewing times and watch the meteors streak across the sky.
Mary,
The Perseids are my favorite as well. I can only imagine what the night sky must look like from the keys.
I don't do it much anymore. When it's warm enough the mosquitoes eat me alive. I did bundle up one night though so I could go out and watch the space station & shuttle fly overhead back in the winter. That was fun. :)
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