Light Pollution

When you are put into the [Total Perspective] Vortex you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little mark, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says, "You are here." - the ultimate torture device described in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

From yesterday's Astronomy Picture of the Day (one of my favorite web sites):

How many stars can you see? Through next week, the GLOBE at Night project invites people from all over the world to go outside at night, look up, and see! Specifically, people are invited to go out an hour after sunset and look for the constellation Orion toward the west. Rather than count Orion's stars directly,
however, the GLOBE at Night website has made things easier by providing several star charts to which you can compare your view of Orion. Possible matches extend from a bright sky where only a few Orion stars are visible, to a very dark sky where over 100 Orion stars are visible. ... By participating in this easy and fun activity, you are helping humanity to better understand how light pollution is changing across the Earth.

BOTTOM LINE

Star gazing is one of the great blessings in life and can help give a sense of perspective on how much bigger the universe is than the momentary problems we face.