Here, the immensity of time and our universe can be felt in every fiber of the body.
Exploring the night sky in a national park could be atransformative experiencefor both young and old.
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The sky at home
But protecting dark sky sites in national parks is only half the story.
Its a shame that light pollution means these wonderful experiences are only possible far from home.
Connecting everyone with the wonders of the universe should be taken up where people live.
Urban parks are often perfect for this if the lighting can be reduced and shielded.
Its possible to spot and track these objects from night to night and understand the pattern of their movements.
The regular crazes aroundsuper moonssuggest that people have sadly forgotten the nightly pleasure of tracking the moon.
The night sky in Nottingham at 1 am, November 7, 2019.
This is a 24-hour clock that rotates anti-clockwise.
Every week after March 7 deducts half an hour or two hours per month.
Here the time is initially 17:00 but needs correcting: eight months after March 7 means subtracting 16 hours.
This results in 1:00 or 1 am.
Adapted from The Walkers Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs by Tristan Gooley.
Daniel Brown
Its still nearly always possible to find the Plough on a clear night in the northern hemisphere.
But, its interesting to remember that this is only a coincidence.
Spotting Orion is also simple enough when looking for his belt three bright stars in a line.
Looking below the belt reveals three much fainter stars forming the sword.
This article is republished fromThe ConversationbyDaniel Brown, Lecturer in Astronomy,Nottingham Trent Universityunder a Creative Commons license.
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