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I grew up in cities and suburbs, a child of television and computers. When I went to basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma - the middle of nowhere - and we camp
by daniel-thompson 5y ago
I grew up in cities and suburbs, a child of television and computers. When I went to basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma - the middle of nowhere - and we camped out in the field, that was the first time I saw what the night sky really looks like. It was absolutely breathtaking, seeing the Milky Way and the millions of stars that are visible in a clear sky without light pollution. I often think about that experience and about how that was how it looked to everyone, everywhere, for all of human history up until the last x00 years. Basic sucked but that was unquestionably the highlight of that time for me and one of the highlights of my life so far.
- krylon 5y agoI know what you mean. The first time I saw the Milky Way other than in pictures, I was 19 years old, we were an a school trip to Greece, near Delphi. The view was amazing. My godmother gave me a low-end telescope for my birthday that year, but I quickly found out that it was almost entirely useless in the city. :( These days I can play around with Stellarium, but it's not the same, of course.
- marsa 5y agoyes that feeling of awe is second to none. i experienced it in the summer of 2007 camping out on a small uninhabited island with no artificial light sources in sight and low moonlight. seeing millions of stars and hundreds of meteors streaking through the night sky was amazing. upon return i learned that what i experienced was the perseid meteor shower, which i wasn't aware of at the time, and IIRC it was one of the more severe ones. been chasing that feeling on-and-off ever since but to no avail sadly.