Autumn and winter are the perfect time to rediscover the night skies. It is also a way to connect with the past.
Our ancestors, not stuck in their homes at night staring at a loud, lit rectangle, spent a lot of time studying the heavens. So much so they built sophisticated calenders, marked alignments, and tracked time and planetary cycles with structures and monoliths.
They did it without computers, no alien intervention, and often minimal written language.
Constellations were a way to pass on stories and information – a type of “memory palace,” according to anthropologists. Some of those stories have been lost, but not all. Oral knowledge often spanned generations – now people struggle to remember a few things to buy at the store.
So step outside on clear nights. You only need your eyes – I’ll even allow a starmap app on your phone – and travel back in time.
Darrick Dean 