Night Sky

Nabbed from Wikipedia. My camera can't handle this sort of thing, at least I don't even know if it can.

The electricity going out last night prompted me to step outside and appreciate the night sky. I am no where near knowledgeable enough about constellations and celestial bodies to notice a large difference between the Southern and Northern hemispheres but I have made a point to locate and analyze the Southern Cross (Crux). I did not see how that particular constellation makes finding South any easier. In fact I was only really able to find it by knowing which way South was first and then looking up and to the right. Perhaps it was brighter in the sky earlier in human history and made it obvious but I didn't quite grasp it's importance.

The bigger difference is the lack of any light pollution. The splendor of outer space can only properly be seen in total darkness, from the ground level anyway. This is something a rural village in the middle of nowhere can offer. At the same time, the utility of a full moon is really evident when you've tried to stumble your way to the outhouse during a new moon. It is easy to forget that we are living on a pale blue dot when our influence over our planet overpowers the light from the rest of the universe. I will certainly miss being able to go right outside my door and place things in perspective.