I LOVE stargazing! Not so much with a telescope (though I do enjoy that) but with my own naked eye, getting lost in the absolute magnitude of space. Knowing that, even though I look intently, I cannot see everything that is out there. Some objects are just too far away.
The night sky is somehow very calming to me, which is amazing because, as a child, I was scared of the dark. Scared to the point that I could not go into a darkened room by myself. Now, I meander around my house at night without even turning on a lamp.
Have you ever wondered what so fascinates us about the stars? As a Trekkie, I have always pondered these questions. But my fascination with space and what might be out there came long before Star Trek hit the airwaves.
For me, when I look up, I see possibility. The possibility that something else is out there. Is there life and what does it look like? In our space exploration, we always seem to look for carbon-based life forms. But what if it is something different? Maybe Sulphur based? Or based on something we as humans cannot even comprehend? And if they are there, then what? The possibilities are endless. And a little frightening.
But my scientific nature only goes so far before my romantic side takes over. Before long, I’m pondering the myths of old and the constellations they inspired. The Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, seem to have a myth from every major civilization but I like the one of the Native Americans.
Seven sisters were gathering herbs when a giant bear began chasing them. There was nowhere to hide so they huddled together in fear, waiting for death. The gods took pity on them and caused the earth underneath them to rise, keeping them safe. The giant bear was furious and tore at the sides of the mound with his great paws all night, leaving marks that can still be seen today – on the sides of Devil’s Tower.
The mound was so tall, however, that the sisters could not get down. To keep them from dying a slow and painful death, the gods took pity on the girls and they were transported to the sky, where they now form the Pleiades, shining their bright light down for all to see.
Are you a stargazer? If so, what great and wonderful images fill your imagination as you ponder the beauty of the stars in the night sky?
