As a kid, I used to do it a lot. The bright celestial bodies in the vast black background seemed magical to me. I tried to find the constellations named Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and the Pole star, as I studied about them only for the first time. Initially, I thought that only stars were visible to the naked eye, except the Moon, Venus and Mercury. Later, I found out that Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, some star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, etc., are also visible.
After knowing more about it, I tried to recognize the constellations named Orion, Cassiopeia, Andromeda galaxy, etc. Staring at them was awe-inspiring and, finding the farther ones felt ecstatic.
Studies show that people feel less stressed and thus more relaxed during stargazing. Research conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2014 suggests that those who stargaze feel more connected to nature. Also, according to a study published in the European Journal of Ecopsychology, stargazing makes us kinder. We feel diminished in front of the sky, which is larger and immensely powerful than us.
Source of epiphanies
I had many epiphanies during stargazing. Sometimes, it reminds the truths of life. I realize that most of our problems are limited to this blue planet only. And, they are not as sober as they seem, but we make them so either by doing them improperly or via our wrong mindset about them.
Many of you might know that whatever we see in the night sky is the ‘past’. Light emitted by most celestial bodies takes years to reach us. So, we perceive the time when they had illuminated that light. Consequently, at times we see a celestial body but, it doesn’t even exist then.
It also reminds us that humans and stars are nearly made up of the same elements, meaning the same origins. Staring them from a constantly moving planet reminds us that time is irreversible.
The night sky is an epiphany of beauty. It does nothing to show itself such majestic, unlike humans. I realize that we are lucky in our ability to appreciate such beauty.
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