It’s easy to forget that your life on Earth is just one planet in a universe of floating rocks – until you witness a solar eclipse or watch a comet shoot across the sky. While these rare events may be as difficult to catch as a falling star, one constant is the twinkling stars that come out at night. Find the best spots to stargaze and observe the stunning lights of the cosmos.
What is stargazing? Gaze into the night sky, and you might see the light of fiery celestial bodies that have traveled hundreds of light years to reach your eyes. These otherworldly views can be humbling, reminding us how small we are in the universe. Stephanie Rytting, a travel writer for USA Adventurer, enjoys stargazing with her husband and four children.
“I love the simultaneous feeling of both smallness and vastness – smallness in the face of the immensity of creation and vastness in the connection to it and knowing that we are made of the same stuff. It’s always a moving experience.” DarkSky International, a volunteer group focused on reducing the harmful effects of light pollution, has certified more than 200 dark sky places worldwide – and 146 of those spots are in North America.
So whether you are standing on a beach in New England, camping in the middle of nowhere in the Heartland or standing on a rocky cliff on the West Coast, it’s relatively easy to connect with nature and space in all of its glory from one of these amazing spots. Acadia National Park, Maine Acadia’s coasta.