The end of night

TODAY'S ENTRY BORROWS the title of Paul Bogard's intriguing book (Back Bay Books 2013) and extends the break from talking exclusively about the mechanics and art of dealing with the issues of starting a high octane business and raising the money needed to fuel its ascent.

As Paul's book notes, most of the contiguous 48 States of the United States and Europe are enveloped by a fog of artificial light that blocks out the thousands of stars otherwise visible to the naked eye. In many cities, fewer than 25 stars can be seen on an average night. In a thorough and thoughtful book, Paul makes a case that this impacts our lives in ways we do not fully appreciate and blinds us to the wonder of the unadulterated night sky, diminishing out lives in the process.

On a recent Spring trip, I took the opportunity to visit some Western National Parks where the night sky remains dark and largely free of the artificial light that fogs much of  the rest of our country. While there, I ventured out into the late night sky on several occasions to reacquaint myself with the night sky that still shown brightly in my suburban 1950s childhood.

I recommend the book and the experience if you can work it into your schedule. I joined my effort to visit the night sky with my passion for photography. I found it to be well worth the effort. It was invigorating and, frankly, awe inspiring. You might think about revisiting the night sky sometime in your near future. It might just fill you with a sense of wonder.

By the way, the National Park Service estimates that you can see more than 2,500 stars from Arches National Park. That's 100 times as many stars as you might see from your city. The photo is just a small sample of the full sky.

Photo copyright 2016 Clinton Richardson. Arches National Park at night.