Family Travel and Autism

Of course, I knew all about light  pollution.  In my arrogance, I thought I did.  That was until I experienced the North Rim  of the Grand Canyon.  We have had shooting star alerts here in NE Ohio and on many of those nights were unable to see due to the light pollution.  On several previous camping trips we had star watched in areas with little light.  That was until we reached the Grand Canyon's North Rim.

There isn't any light there.  Any.  At all.  Anywhere.

The result is a sky lit up like fireworks.  More stars than you ever imagined.  Reaching from horizon to horizon.

They were having a star party.  People with telescopes had come from all over just to view the night sky.  They set up on the terrace of the lodge.  Over 25 individuals with powerful telescopes focused on Saturn, galaxies, clusters and more.  What an incredible sight!

Like little children, we hopped from telescope viewing the fantastic sights.  The rings of Saturn!  Twisted clusters of stars!  Other galaxies!  Each individual explained what we were looking at and patiently handled all the questions Adam could ask.  They loved sharing their knowledge with the kids.

A fantastic opportunity for all!

Here is a jpg of what the earth looks like at night.  Makes you really think about the phrase "I'll leave the light on for you."

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/earth_night.jpg