Have you ever been a stargazer? Have you, at one point in your life, gone with a group of like-minded folk — or maybe, gone by yourself — to a desolate, open field where the lights are incredibly low, the air is clear, and the time is right as you lay down on your blanket (or maybe even the grass), and just stared out into the great expanse of the sky? Have you ever beheld the glory of the cosmos in the enormity of its distance and endlessness, sharply and painfully aware of your insignificance in the totality of space? That we, humble organisms that live and mingle and die on this pale blue dot are but mere whispers in the grand and awesome infinity of the stars?
Okay, maybe you haven’t quite had those sorts of epiphanies, but the stargazers of Telluride, Colorado are certainly in for a great treat this weekend. Officials have kindly requested the residents in the area to switch off their lights from Saturday evening to early Sunday to help stargazers, nightsky photographers, and budding astronomers better behold the stars.
“For all of humanity’s history up until the last two generations, humans have always looked up and seen the night sky,” photographer Ben Canales says. He and a group of astronomers will be leading a tour up the Jud Wiebe Trail and onto a safe spot for astronomy fans to get a bird’s-eye view of the sleepy town and a clear view of the night sky. the high altitude and steep canyon walls of the locale make it an ideal spot to stargaze.
“It’s pretty wild,” Canales excitedly shares. “It sounds like we’re making a fort back in the living room with couch cushions. There’s something really fun about it.”
We wish the stargazers all the best, and share a little quote to ponder on from our friends over at Welcome To Night Vale:
[Image sources: 1, 2]
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