The Night Sky Deserves Your Attention

A friend recently asked – Why do I find the night sky and stargazing so captivating? Well, the answer is simple – The night reveals our planet’s connection with the universe. For me, there’s no greater beauty.

And I truly believe you can share this experience. Take a moment each night to step outside and simply look up. Trust me, this simple act has the potential to become the most special and joyful part of your day. That’s why I said the night sky deserves your attention.

No deny, we all have a busy life. We all have that never-ending to-do list, who has time to stare at the stars, right? But here’s the secret: you don’t need hours. Just a few stolen minutes can work wonders.

Think about it. You’re rushing around, stress building, and then you take a breath, look up and see a shooting star streak across the darkness. In those precious seconds, the world fades away. Your worries shrink. It’s a tiny moment of pure peace in the midst of the chaos. Isn’t that wonderful? Then, what’s stopping you?

I’ve made this a habit, every night to go up at the terrace or to my backyard and just lie there for a few minutes to see the stars. It’s been 4 years and I’m doing this every day and you won’t believe how many shooting stars I’ve seen till now, how many wonders I’ve witnessed while every neighbour around me stuck to their screen in their teeny-tiny room.

Sometimes I want to listen to the Interstellar soundtrack and lie on the ground somewhere high in the mountains, with a cool breeze blowing on my face, gazing up at the starry night sky, and wondering about the infinite possibilities in the cosmos awaiting us humans to explore.

We Are Stardust

The other reason why most of us feel so connected with the universe, like they’re old friends is that we all are made of that stardust, we’re a part of it. In fact, there’s a quote by the legendary Carl Sagan that perfectly sums it up –

All of the rocky and metallic material we stand on, the iron in our blood, the calcium in our teeth, the carbon in our genes were produced billions of years ago in the interior of a red giant star. We are made of star-stuff.

Carl sagan

Let that sink in for a moment. Everything we are, everything that makes us human, was once part of a star.

Here’s another thing that will make you feel special – When you stand beneath a dark sky, realize that the light you’re seeing coming from those stars and galaxies started its journey hundreds, thousands, millions, and even billions of years ago, over unimaginable distances, without ever hitting anything – only to end its journey in your eye. Isn’t it something mind-blowing?

We have but a short time on this planet. So why not spend some of those precious moments experiencing the wonder of the universe we’re part of?

The Night Sky is Disappearing

If you’re even a bit convinced about looking up at the night sky, I think you need to start it today. Why? Because the night sky is disappearing faster than ever.

Light pollution is a growing problem. Research shows that Earth’s night sky is now twice as bright as it was 10 years ago, thanks to artificial lights. That means children born today might only see 30% of the stars, that we see today, on their 18th birthdays. Sadly, the breathtaking view of the Milky Way that captivated you today might be a thing of the past for future generations.

And to be honest, it isn’t all just about the artificial light. Speaking from a broader perspective, the nature of the universe itself will make these stars fade someday. But, how? And how does it make us the lucky ones?

We Are the Lucky Ones

The time scale in which we’re in right now is considered to be the very early stage of the universe. It is considered that on the scale of a human lifetime, the universe has just emerged from the womb.

Now, we all know that the universe is expanding and, as the universe continues to expand, those distant stars we see today will eventually drift farther and farther away from us. In fact, billions of years from now, many of them will be so distant that their light will no longer reach our little corner of the cosmos. What does that mean for the future of our night sky?

Eventually, as the stars grow colder and dimmer, the universe will enter a long, cold, and lonely era. The night sky we see today will look far more different in the future.

Perhaps, the future civilizations that may one day arise in the vast emptiness of space will wonder – ‘What was it like to live in the universe’s brilliant early days?’ And you know what? We’re lucky enough to know the answer.

All we have to do is look up.