It is said that now 80% of North Americans and Europeans are unable to see the Milky Way, the enormous spiral of dense stars we live in, because our man-made earth lights block out the light of the stars. What a loss for us, as the stars are beautiful and invite us to ponder the God who imagined and placed them.
"He knows the number of the stars and calls them each by name." Psalm 147:4
My science-resource-friend shares a few observations about the spring night sky.
Every star that we can see in the night sky is part of our own Milky Way galaxy. The appearance of the "spilled milk" in the sky is a dense concentration of these stars. The earth is located along one of the arms of the this spiral galaxy about two thirds out from the center. In the springtime this Milky Way lies level with the horizon (like a plate flat on a table), so it is virtually invisible.
In the northern spring sky we are looking out of the plate of the galaxy, unhindered by intervening dust and into the dark, starless space between galaxies. In the direction of Virgo, Leo and Ursa Major lie hundreds of galaxies which cannot be easily detected during other times of the year.
The Big Dipper, our signpost in the sky, swings high overhead during the spring pointing the way to other stars as the night sky transitions from the winter to the stars that will adorn the heavens for the next few months.
It appears that the winter stars are disappearing more rapidly at this time of year because the days are lengthening - there are fewer dark hours. The stars are there, we just can't see them in the light, so they have already set before the night darkness comes.
What happens in the outer world of nature symbolizes what may happen in our inner lives. So perhaps the message of the spring night sky, which looks out into space from a new angle, is: May we see far beyond ourselves, as things that have been hidden are now becoming visible. We might begin on the road, which we all have in common.
- Someone just cut me off - perhaps he is rushing to an elderly mother who phoned sounding anxious and troubled.
- Someone has come up on me too fast and is riding my tail - perhaps she is late to join her father for an important doctor visit.
- Someone is driving too slow for this lane - perhaps it's someone with a new license and who isn't comfortable on the road yet.
- Someone is driving erratically - perhaps on the hands-free phone she is being berated by her boss for being late.
Who knows, but that's just the point, we don't know. Driving is something we have in common and compassion might begin by imagining that everyone else on the road is going somewhere important, and at any time of the driving day or night, carries distracting burdens. So we might drive defensively, but also with awareness of the many others. And in this, we'll be serving ourselves well too - making ourselves less agitated.
