The gang got together in Stayton yesterday for Craig and Lisa‘s annual harvest fest. There was a lot of good food. Too much good food.

After the sun set, the stars came out. Stayton is fairly rural, and so even the dimmest stars are visible. Jeremy, Hank, and I spent a few minutes down by the pasture, listening to the Beavers, picking out constellations from the sky. I used to be good at this, but I’m getting rusty.

“Look at that, Harrison,” Jeremy said, sweeping his arm in an arc over our heads. “You see that white, milky glow? That’s our galaxy. We’re just one planet and one star on the edge of a bunch of other stars.”

Harrison is of an age that this can almost impress him. He had lots of questions about galaxies. I remembered that Nick and I found this video last week, and I promised to post it so that Hank could learn more:

Astronomy is fascinating. Nothing makes me feel smaller or more insignificant. And yet nothing makes me feel more awed by the wonders of life.

One Reply to “Billions and Billions”

  1. Annie says:

    Hi JD, I stumbled across your blog and have really enjoyed reading your stories. I think the video above is awesome! Can you tell me where I can get this video at to use on my site as well? Also wanted to tell you that if you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend seeing “Passport to the Universe” at Kendall Planetarium at OMSI. I have been to see it twice now and I love it. Wish I lived a little closer to see it more often.

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