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There are times I stand outside only to stare up at the sky–even in winter when my parents are pleading with me to come inside. The second I see the night sky, it’s difficult for me not to be immersed in its beauty. I have a secret goal that few people know: I have the unreasonable desire to see every star. So, I stay outside spinning in circles for a good 5 minutes, give or take, and come inside with my nose all red.

Stars themselves have mesmerized humanity for thousands of years. Stories were crafted to explain the shapes that leapt out to people who saw the stars. Ancient physicists and theologists have always looked out to these “heavens” as a representation of relative stability and eternity. However, we’ve learned a good deal about the universe since then. Now, scientists know that these “heavens” actually fluctuate quite a bit. 

In non-technical terms, there are only so many galaxies we can see before they go beyond our line of sight, which they are in a constant process of doing. Stars die and are born every day. Though they stay around for a great deal of time, they are far from permanent. We can tell nothing of them but the light we receive. Though that is all scientists can know, it is far from providing the truest picture.

Light travels at the speed of approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. Though it is the fastest any mass can travel, it still takes approximately 8 minutes for the sun’s light to reach us. It’s disappointing, really, but this also means that the stars we can see in the night sky may not be there anymore. If there were a star 20 million light-years away that let out a beam of light in our general direction, it would take 20 million years to get to us. In 20 million years, many things can happen. A black hole could come along and swallow the solar system in which the star resides. The star could fizzle out and transition to a less energetic state. It could collapse into a supernova or neutron star,depending on what type of star it is. However, the light we receive is still of that star that once was: the star that existed 20 million years ago. 

In a way, the night sky is a painting–an artistic depiction of what the universe was like at times that humanity will never know. I am constantly reminded of the impermanence when studying physics. Whether it be in the ever-changing states of matter to particle decay, I am most reminded of it when I look upon my old art. To hold a painting in my hands and realize “I made this” is disconcerting. There will be scribbles over my nightstand that have persisted since I was five years old. There are essays and poems I have written in my younger youth that give me second-hand embarrassment today. There are bad anatomy sketches and horrible likenesses of human faces that I wince at when I glance at them. Yet, though this is not me as I am now, this was me once. And all humans are satirical compilations of their histories. 

Like stars leave their light as an impression to the universe for millions of years after they have changed, humans leave little impressions of themselves littered over the things they ever cared for. Names written on desks, stupid things on the walls of bathroom stalls, love letters from the 19th century. The person who made it may not be here anymore, but their existence was never lost.

 

written by Gursimran Randhawa

edited by Saanvi Gutta and Tryphena Pilli

 

Image Reference:

Morrow, D. (n.d.). Under the Stars [Photograph].