Actually pointing out a constellation in outer space

Growing up between streetlights and neon pizza signs it was pretty rare to stare up at a dark sky full of sparkly stars.

Now, if we went camping or up to a friend’s cottage, that was a different story. That’s when we could zip open our tent or lie on the dock and gaze up at the twinkly beauty above us all. We’d just tilt our necks, drop our jaws, and wonder how big it was, how far it went, and what the tentacled, salivacovered aliens looking back at us were thinking.

It didn’t happen too often, but every once in a while somebody would pick out a few bright stars and point out a constellation way up there, light-years away, worlds apart, and sparkling for all eternity. We’d hear stories about bulls, belt buckles, and the private affairs of many Greek gods.

Of course, I could only ever see one thing up there myself: The Big Dipper aka The Plough. Sometimes I thought I’d see something else only to have an older kid tell me I was looking at a plane, a blinking satellite, or occasionally the moon.

That’s why when you actually point out a constellation in outer space you feel like a genius with a PhD in Good Eyesight . You’re no longer the dude responsible for finding marshmallow roasting sticks, grabbing bug spray from the tent, or dumping a pail of water onto the fire before we head to bed. No, now you’re a worldly space explorer raising your eyebrows and pointing out the window as we all fly forward through the darkness.

AWESOME!