Celestial lights

Growing up, the vast expanse of the dark sky always fascinates me. Thanks to the well structured science curriculum that we had in elementary and high school, I was inevitably hooked. My father’s adequate collection of books and other literature fueled my curiosity even more.

And to this day, seeing the full moon with dark clouds hovering it makes me stop in my tracks and stare. You wouldn’t think that it is just a rock that only reflects light from the sun!

In the mid 90’s , a TV movie by Stephen King, The Langoliers gave me a more visual idea of another phenomenon, --the Aurora Borealis, an awesome blaze of the Northern Lights.

"Far north in the night sky, a faint glow appears on the horizon. Green and
red flames of light stretch across the sky. A glowing curtain of light forms, waving and swirling above you. As the lights fade away the dark night
closes over you once again."

Recently, another movie, Disney Pictures’ Eight Below brought me back to the carefree years, the time when I would just raise my eyes to the sky and gape in awestruck wonder. Set in Antartica, Eight Below is about eight Siberian huskies left to fend for themselves for six months. My favorite scene is when one of the dogs jumped as high as he could trying to catch those moving rays. Oh wow! The Aurora Borealis!!

It was only the next day that I realize it is not Aurora Borealis but Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights . (Antartica is in the south pole, my dear Drifter :D).

"The extent of light pollution today makes observation of the aurora very difficult. We have to face the same situation if we want to watch the stars. In principle, the light of the aurora is weaker than the light of stars, so if no stars are visible it usually means that the northern lights cannot be seen either."

So that means when the aurora is seen, the sky is at its clearest and bright stars fill the sky!! What a sight that must be!

The mystery of the outer space still fascinates me. And whether Borealis or Australis, the aurora is a work of art, a moving painting in the sky. Watching it must be like seeing the hand of God splashing shades with the universe as His canvass.

I thought of the time with my friends when we laid on the grass somewhere in Baguio and just ….stare.

Out there.

Lying there with the sky as my covering, gave me the most peaceful and the most humbling feeling…..

How beautifully refreshing it must be to see the night sky streaked with a myriad of colors instead of the usual black and gray.