Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
The Stars Are a Comforting Constant (nautil.us)
64 points by dnetesn on July 17, 2017 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments


The stars are not a constant though. In virtually any suburban area you have substantial amounts of light pollution. We are seeing a pale imitation of what every human living before us saw.

You really have to go quite far off the beaten path to reach a true dark-sky area. Unless you are living a 20 minute drive from the nearest town of 250 and an hour away from the nearest town of 100k+ then you have some degree of light pollution.

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info


Thanks for the link. Interesting map.


Some good moments throughout, and 'How to search for aliens'is my favorite of the group. The comparison POV's between her and her mom and between the claustrophobic vigil and the vastness of space worked well for me. She projects more than I prefer with lines like, '. . .Four point five billion years / since genesis and the sky still hovers / like a veil between us and space, / wanting to be lifted before the unintelligible . . .' But, that's a matter of preference. And, with the 4.5 B years, she brings in another fun comparison - the shortness of human relative to the big-picture timeline - without being explicit or trite. Thanks for sharing!




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: