When we hear the phrase “outdoor activity,” images of someone lugging a backpack deep into a remote forest or furiously paddling through a series of churning rapids likely fill our minds. Activities like these appeal to us for being exhilarating and challenging ways to get us in touch with our natural surroundings while improving our health through exercise.
Perhaps ironically, we can become deeply acquainted with much more distant surroundings without even taking a step by partaking in an outdoor activity which can’t be paralleled for its ability to spark the imagination and engage the mind. One which won’t leave you with calf cramps or sore shoulders. Read on to see the reasons why the simple act of looking up into the night sky can be as enjoyable as any of the more active outdoor pursuits and why you should consider adding stargazing to your list of outdoor hobbies in 2024.
1: Low Cost
An avid rock climber I know told me about a misadventure which ended with his gear bag falling over a cliff. The punchline of the story was that he lost $5,000 worth of gear when that bag careened into the abyss at whose bottom it likely remains to this day. While there are many ways to react to this story, my takeaway is that rock climbing is an activity which simply isn’t accessible to a sizeable part of the population. Other gear-heavy outdoor activities can be exclusive because of these prohibitive entry costs.
Not so with stargazing. The only equipment required to get started is a planisphere (the fancy name for those twirly star wheels with all of the constellations on them) and a piece of red cellophane to put over a flashlight. Cost: less than $10.
A more advanced version of stargazing requires a headlamp with a red light setting and a basic pair of 8x binoculars. The total cost is still around $100. While this may still be a lot for some people, it’s still manageable and something one could save up for without causing a major financial burden.
2: Few Physical Barriers
I’m a big proponent of exercise, and nothing brings me more joy than trudging up and down a steep mountain or walking in a natural place with every available second of daylight. But any number of challenges prevent many people from participating in physically demanding activities.
While there are physical conditions which may prevent people from looking at the night sky, stargazing is still something that’s available to most of us and a pastime we can easily share with others, especially those who might like the idea of the outdoors but are less enthusiastic about experiencing weather extremes, swarms of biting insects, and nights spent in places without a bathroom in sight.
3: Real World Drama
Drama, you say? What can be dramatic about a bunch of blobs of gas that haven’t moved (or barely moved) in hundreds of millions of years? With a bit of knowledge about the night sky, some imagination, and a great viewing spot, the nightly motion of the stars can make for a captivating drama rivaling anything shown on a screen. The excitement generated by one of these shows can be so intense that a proper description merits its own post – check out the companion to this article for an example of how this type of drama can play out.
The short version is that like a stage show, familiar players reveal themselves and make their entrances and exits; unexpected cameos from meteorites, satellites, or even the International Space Station can spice things up and keep you engaged through a series of dramatic reveals, slow burns, and emotional reunions. Factor in some uncommon events like eclipses, planetary conjunctions, rare glimpses of distant objects, and comet appearances, and the excitement heightens.
4: A Slower Pastime
Dramatic as it may be, the nightly rotation of the stars lacks the deliberately accelerated pace of some other forms of modern entertainment. But that’s OK. While technologies which make things faster can make our lives more convenient, our cultural obsession with speed imparts a tinge of the frantic to all of our activities and somehow our speed-boosting technologies fail to alleviate the sense of being rushed and struggling to keep up.
As these technologies play an increasingly more prominent role in our lives, we risk losing the ability to slow down and have our attention held by more leisurely but equally rewarding pursuits. A night of stargazing can serve as a counterbalance to the ever-increasing pace of life and give us a chance to see that slower can in fact be better.
5: Learn About the World Around You (and Beyond)
Have you ever wondered why the moon is out during the day sometimes? Or what’s the deal with the seasons anyway? What do north and south actually mean? Is a shooting star really a star? And what the heck really is a solstice or an equinox? These are the types of questions whose answers will start to fall into place as you begin your journey as a stargazer. Ultimately, obtaining those answers means learning about our position in the universe.
You’ll learn about how the Earth, sun, and moon interact with each other, not to mention many other objects in the solar system. You’ll learn why there aren’t two eclipses every month and why the constellations of the zodiac are significant in astronomy, along with so much more about our physical universe and the objects within it like asteroids, galaxies, and nebulae.
6: Gateway to Knowledge
The distinctions between the various branches of science are largely artificial. As a biology teacher, I’m familiar with the perhaps counterintuitive idea that the first lessons in biology are actually overviews of chemistry. At its core, science is a unified whole which describes the actions and interactions of matter in the universe.
Once you start to get into stargazing and develop an interest in space, you’ll find yourself picking up knowledge about physics, geology, and chemistry. And who knows, maybe someday, contact with other forms of life will rewrite our understanding of biology (and create a lot of work for terrestrial biology teachers).
Beyond the sciences, your knowledge of Greek mythology will increase in ways you never imagined. You’ll understand why it makes sense for the constellations Cassiopeia and Cepheus to be so close to each other or the significance of Draco’s proximity to Hercules. And while you’re at it, why not brush up on your Latin? Once you learn that the constellation Cetus is the whale, you’ll never forget that the biological order Cetacea contains…well, you know.
Your skills as a trivia player will definitely be in demand once you start spending some nights looking up.
7: Gateway to Conservation
Wherever there’s light pollution, you can be sure that other types of pollution are present as well, and light pollution has more far-reaching impacts on the biosphere than making it harder for us to see the stars. Once you return to a city after being in a place where the night sky is filled with so many stars that it becomes difficult to separate out the constellations, you’ll feel as if something belonging to you has been taken away. You’ll want to fight to get it back.
Restoring the night sky involves much more than simply turning off the lights. It involves a dramatic overhaul to a cultural mindset and an approach to life. It involves many more (and deeper) decisions than turning off a switch. Your interest in space will turn into an interest in protecting the Earth which floats within it, and somehow learning about far-flung objects billions of miles away will deepen your appreciation for your home planet.
8: Historical Connections to Our Ancestors
For someone separated from their love interest to say that they looked at the moon or a star and knew that the other person was looking at it too is undoubtedly cliché. But like many clichés, it’s rooted in truth. But the shared experience of looking into the night sky transcends separations in time as well as in space.
As those gaseous blobs have been fixed in their celestial positions for millions of years, we can be sure that all humans and even hominids (or is that hominins?) who have come before us looked at the very same stars. Their gazes could hardly fail to have been drawn to distinctive shapes like Orion and the Big Dipper. We know for certain that humans have used the stars for navigation, and it’s even been suggested that migrating animals do the same, but that’s a discussion for another time (I did mention that I’m a biology teacher, right?)
Not only does light pollution rob us of our ability to enjoy the night sky in the present moment, but it also robs us of a critical historical link to our ancestors. Given how rapidly changes in civilization have accelerated in recent decades, an appreciation for the night sky is likely one of our last remaining links to ancient societies from which our own evolved. Stargazing is one of the few remaining activities we can do in a way that’s scarcely unchanged from how it was done 10,000 years ago.
Final Thoughts: Curiosity and Discovery
That ancient people closely tracked the positions of celestial objects is evidenced in the construction of sites like Stonehenge, Chaco Canyon, and many others. In some ways, these sites are monuments to human curiosity and ingenuity. One of the attractions of stargazing for me is a connection to an ancient and unbroken line of scientific inquiry. I’m always amazed by how much people were able to figure out using nothing other than their eyes and their minds.
For all of the advances made since ancient times, there’s still so much more to be discovered in the universe. The only other world we’ve set foot on is the Moon, and we’ve only sent craft just beyond the edges of our solar system, one of many within one of many galaxies. That stargazing gives us an appreciation for the vastness of space is also a cliché; what we may often fail to appreciate is the vastness of the power of the human mind which is reflected in our knowledge and exploration of the stars and the imposing scale of the discoveries that remain to be made.
But for now, the amount of knowledge we have will be more than enough to get you started on your own journey of discovery. One that will deepen your understanding of the universe and help you develop valuable skills that are being lost, like the ability to focus and remain still in quiet contemplation.
If a desire for calm and serenity has attracted you to the outdoors, stargazing is an ideal way to enhance your enjoyment of these states of mind. But if finding solitude is your main goal, beware — as long as you maintain the ability to view and recognize the celestial acquaintances you’ll develop as your interest in astronomy deepens, you’ll never truly be alone at night in the outdoors.
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