Reflecting and Connecting in the Dark

It is another Star Night, time to spend an evening in the dark with friends and strangers. Not long ago, all of our evenings were spent engulfed in artificial light, with no connection to the night sky. Today, everyone spends some evening time outdoors in the dark, even in the worst of weather. This is a cultural ritual that brings us together and helps us feel connected to each other, to people in the past, and to people who will look at the same sky in the future. We realize that restoring and protecting the night sky is a gift to future generations, tying us to them.

I step outside and take a few minutes, as I was taught as a child, to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. It is dark enough outside that most of the color has leached out of the landscape, which is illuminated only by the light of the Milky Way and other stars above. Reflective white stone paths lead me through the woods to the gathering spot in the meadow.

At the place where the trees grow more densely, I turn on my red headlamp. A possum freezes on the trail ahead, looks at me with glowing red eyes, then slowly waddles into the brush. A month or two ago, when it was warmer, the glow of fireflies also lit the understory of the forest. They and other nocturnal creatures have recovered from our years of assault with light pollution.

Leaving the thicket, I turn off my lamp once again. A river of stars overhead lights my way.

By the time I reach the meadow, my eyes have fully adjusted to the darkness. I can see others who have gathered. Some are sitting in camping chairs, some kids are playing a running game, and some people have brought telescopes. Almost everyone has brought picnic blankets, and some people are lying down, side-by-side. A large meteor streaks by, and there is a swell of oohs and ahs, just like there used to be in fireworks shows. Once people slowed down enough to appreciate that we can see the enormity of our own galaxy overhead, there was no longer as much appeal in gaudy displays of artificial light at night. People found that it was much more awe inspiring to experience being a passenger on spaceship Earth traveling through the cosmos.

It is fall now, and getting a bit chilly, so people came prepared with wearable sleeping bags for warmth, and hats. Later, when it is very cold or windy, fewer people will gather, and for shorter sessions. Since we began paying attention to the sky, the relationship between the Earth’s tilt and the seasons has become apparent to everyone, as it was to our ancestors. As a result, like our ancestors, we have developed the wisdom of working and playing when it is light, and resting and reflecting when it is dark.