A Love Letter to the Night Sky

To the Night Sky,

As the days come to a close, I find myself looking up at the sky above me.  With the sun setting on the horizon, your vibrant colors begin to shine through the thin clouds.  Your pink and purple hues never fail to make me smile.  It’s a sight that I’ll never get tired of.  

I can’t tell you how many times my friends and I would hop in the car and drive off to the best location we could find, as if we were chasing the falling sun, hoping to catch a glimpse of your beautiful cotton candy skies.  

I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of you saved on my phone, always taking more because one or two… or a hundred are just never enough.  

I can’t tell you how many countless memories I’ve made with you peering on in the background, always there to make me smile because you truly are part of the reason why I have those memories to begin with.  

It’s in those fleeting moments, when your radiating colors fade into darkness, that I am most grateful for you.  In those moments, I am in awe of your beauty and amazed by this world we live in.  

Then, in an instant, complete darkness floods the sky.  The bright luminescence of the moon takes the place of the sun and twinkling stars fill the void for as far as you can see.  

Everything is still. 

The sound of crickets chirping and the occasional owl pierce through the silence.  Night is different from day in so many ways.  Polar opposites, but still so beautiful.

While the sunset amazes me for its beauty, the night sky amazes me for its vastness.  On warm summer nights, I love to go outside, place a blanket on the soft grass, and lay there for what feels like an eternity.  Filled with awe, I take in the beauty of the dark and silent void. 

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a fascination with space.  It blows my mind that when we look up at the stars, we’re seeing light from, oftentimes, hundreds of years ago.  We’re literally taking a look into the past.  

How cool is that?! 

I want nothing more than to go to the middle of nowhere, lay down in an open field, and look up at the night sky flooded with the colors and the stars of the Milky Way Galaxy.  

Free of light pollution.  Free of worries.  Free of… well, everything.  Just me and nature.  

Staring up at the night sky, I’m reminded of just how small we really are.  How incredible it is to be living at this moment in time, on a planet that gives us everything we could ever need. 

And that’s exactly why we need to protect it. 

Imagine living in a world without sunsets.  Imagine living in a world where you aren’t able to see the thousands and thousands of stars in the night sky.  

I, for one, don’t even want to imagine something like that.  

So, let’s all be a little bit kinder to our planet.  Whatever it may be — reducing your carbon footprint, using fewer plastic products, conserving energy — we owe it to our home.  

After all, it’s the only home we’ve got.  

So thank you, night sky.  From your gorgeous sunsets to your awe-inspiring star-filled abyss, I owe you big time for providing me with stunning views, endless inspiration, and countless memories that I’ll never forget.  

From your (not so) secret admirer, 

Connor

Editors’ Note: This love letter is part of Planet Home’s Valentine’s Day series. We asked our team to write an ode to a part of the world they feel most connected to. We hope this inspires you to appreciate all things big and small that make our planet feel like home.