
Time to turn off the lights - nreece
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7225/full/457027a.html
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bprater
If you've never experienced the Milky Way on a truly dark (ie: new moon)
night, I highly recommend taking a camping trip.

It's amazing, and the longer you lie there and wait, the more of it you'll
see.

It will put into perspective just how little we are in our galaxy. (And that's
just one galaxy!)

~~~
sachinag
Yeah, it's sad how pervasive unnecessary light pollution has become in this
country. In Manhattan, you could barely see half a dozen stars at night.

~~~
kirubakaran
You should attempt to escape to Africa and get busted at Grand Central Station
and then get shipped off and be a cast away in Madagascar island, where you
can see thousands and thousands of stars instead of helicopters :-)

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pasbesoin
I vacation once a year on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan. The closest larger light source is Thunder Bay, several dozens of
miles across the lake. The depth and richness of the sky (vague allusion to
Vinge, yes) are wonderful. The stars, the galaxies (with the help of a
friendly ranger and his telescope). Watching satellites cast their slow arcs
overhead.

I think such sights, like the science fiction alluded to, remind us of our
_potential_. Current circumstances get some needed contextualization.

And the peace of the moment reminds me of where we come from. Not from a realm
of endless distraction, but from a realm of endless engagement.

