My feeling is that an observer needs to see four hundred and fifty stars to get that feeling of infinitude, and be swept awayand I didnt make that number up arbitrarily, thats the number of stars that are available once you get dimmer than third magnitude. So in the city, you see a dozen stars, a handful, and its attractive to no one. And if theres a hundred stars in the sky it still doesnt do it. Theres a certain tipping point where people will look and there will be that planetarium view. And now youre touching that ancient core, whether its collective memories or genetic memories, or something else form way back before we were even humanastronomer Bob Berman quoted in The End of Night
astronomy beauty genetic-memories stars wonder
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About Paul Bogard, The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light

Paul Bogard, The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light.

Themes

  • Beauty — Appreciating aesthetics, grace, and the sublime

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astronomy beauty stargazer stars

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beauty epiphany genetic-memory soul
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