Dark Beauty

My research paper is about the wonders of the night and how since the beginning of time we have had informal connections with the sky. This is a topic that really interests me because during the night there are a number of beautiful spectacles to see depending where you are in the world.  I plan to talk about the different connections people have with the sky and more specifically the northern lights. Being from a northern country I am very lucky to have seen this magnificent show of dancing lights, and it is something I wish everyone could see at least once in their life. In the movie The City Dark some of the speakers talk about how if we never look up and see how vast the universe is we will become artificially bigger than we really are. I don’t know if there is any research to prove this but I wonder if those cultures that experience the cosmos on a regular basis have any health (physical/mental) benefits. In the film there is information about how irregular work, and sleep patterns can potentially have health risks, and how constant light exposure is damaging to the body. There is no mention of the advantages that a “regular” sleep schedule has, it is inversely implied that if staying up late with too much light exposure, or shift working is bad, than living in accordance to the bodies natural sleep rhythm, in the darkness of night must be better for you. 

Image source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/northernlights

I have been researching the northern lights and have found some articles explaining the science behind them and also how different nations incorporate natural phenomena into cultural identity. I relate to this because in my native country there are many cultural ties to nature like the northern lights, and the Rocky Mountains, these have become symbols of where we come from and who we are. Just like any culture we are starting to loose that connection with nature but there are still many groups, and aboriginal tribes, that feel the connection deep in their soul. Ian Cheney seems to have had a personal connection with the stars since he was very young, and he noticed the differences between the darkness of his childhood home compared to the darkness of his adult city. I also wonder what it takes for others to acquire this passion for the stars, and night time phenomena, for some it’s natural, and instinctively they want to learn more about the night, but for others it is not that easy. Many people will go their whole life thinking there are only a handful of stars in the sky and I am curious, if native city people saw the cosmos as the astronomers do in Hawaii above their own city (like new york) if they too would find this passion to see it again? If more people saw the night in its true glory would more people see the bigger picture, see how small we are compared to this immeasurable universe?