Hello Outdoor Enthusiasts!

Last week I posted an argument for saving money and saving resources by shutting off all of the extra lights. (Yes, there is a tie-in to the outdoors.)

I also mentioned Ancient Greece. Although they were the best known, Ancient Egypt and Babylon are linked to this topic as well.

I’ll give you a hint… outdoor navigation.

Did you guess the stars and constellations?

Although many civilizations recognized pictures in the stars, it was an Ancient Greek astronomer named Ptolemy who documented 48 constellations in a book called the Almagest, (written circa 150 A.D.)  This is considered the birth of the modern constellations.

Within this book were Perseus, Andromeda, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Hercules, and Orion as well as the 12 signs of the zodiac. They were also all given Latin names, as Latin was the language of learning.

These star charts and maps were used for hundreds of years as navigation aids, even without any real type of standard between cultures.

In 1919 a group of astronomers formed the International Astronomical Union or IAU. One of the first items they tackled was the celestial disarray. The IAU made a list of 88 'official' constellations in 1922 and approved the boundary of each six years later. (Link)

Not only are the stars and constellations visible on a clear night, but meteors, the Aurora Borealis, the phases of the moon and even man made satellites can be seen with the naked eye.

Here is where I would recommend a book or star chart; however with all of the lights from street lamps, buildings etc. there is little of the night sky you can actually see.  City lights can be seen from more than 20 miles away as a glow on the horizon. 

Do city kids know there are thousands of stars?

Many companies and people claim to be earth friendly and "green" but that’s only by day. The incredible amount of "light pollution" around us continues to grow with no end in sight.

One day I hope to find myself in a place remote enough and dark enough to see the night sky as it had been less than 150 years ago, before this massive waste of resources.

Everyone needs goals

See you ‘round the campfire