Last night, Heath and I attended Dark Skies & Deep Space: Andromeda Rising, hosted by the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department. The skies were clear, and the stars slowly came out for us to enjoy. Spencer, a City of Boulder Ranger, used a laser beam to point out different constellations in the sky. My favorite was the Summer Triangle, mostly because I had never heard of it before!
Image from the NASA website
Spencer also posed an interesting question after discussing the history of naming the constellations: If we were to create new constellations today, what popular culture would be represented in our night skies?
Some of the answers were fun and funny, such as a chat window of a Microsoft Teams meeting or Spider-Man. My first answer was, of course, a dog, because I love them so much. But we already have dog constellations, so I didn’t share that answer.
Then I thought of the perfect answer, and I yelled it out: Dolly Parton.
Spencer responded, “That answer deserves a round of applause.”
I have since Googled “how does one name a constellation,” because I wondered if I could start a petition to get a constellation named after one of the greatest musicians, feminists, and philanthropists of all time. From my scant research, naming a constellation isn’t up for discussion. The International Astronomical Union does not accept proposals for new constellations or sell naming rights (anyone who is selling you a star is essentially selling you a piece of paper and nothing else).
Oh, well.
I’ll have to think of another way to honor Dolly Parton. In the meantime, I’ve decided that anytime I think of a current event that raises my ire, I’m going to say out loud, “Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library have given over 330 million books to children,” to add more positivity to the world.
But back to the night skies – one thing I learned from a Dark Skies Colorado volunteer is that last night in Boulder County, over ONE MILLION birds migrated through the night sky.
ONE MILLION!
The volunteer explained that this is one reason it’s essential for people to turn off their outdoor lights at night, especially during bird migration season. Which, in case you are wondering, is March through June for spring migration and Mid-August through November for fall migration.
The City of Boulder isn’t the only one educating on the importance of dark skies this migration season. Today was also Lafayette’s Migratory Bird Festival at Waneka Lake. I strolled over there this afternoon under a very hot September sun (92 degrees at 2pm). Raptors from HawkQuest, local musicians, artists, vendors, and non-profit organizations shared all kinds of information on how we can help birds.
In addition to turning off your outdoor lights, other simple steps include using red lights outdoors instead of white, or replacing upward-facing light fixtures with ones that face down.
So consider yourself informed!
Please do turn off the lights if you’re able. Tell your friends and neighbors.
Then look up into the night sky and say out loud, “Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library have given over 330 million books to children.”
Let’s put more good into a world at a time when we need it!
