The natural world on Earth never ceases to amaze us; we make pilgrimages to Everest, Niagara, the Amazon and other wonders on our bucket lists. The night sky is often left off the list of experiences we seek out, but its thrills can be even more overwhelming than terrestrial ones. When the cloudy expanse of the Milky Way stretches above us from horizon to horizon, a meteor streaks across the sky, or a rocket defies gravity to leave Earth, it imparts a sense of awe. Observing this pageant was once a nightly ritual for humans across the planet - under a hundred years ago, seeing the unobscured night sky was a birthright. Now it’s inaccessible to urban dwellers across the globe. In Great Britain, it’s still in reach, if we seek it out - you don’t have to go far to experience its magic. Read on, and look up!
The glorious Milky Way, as viewed from the hilly moorland of Exmoor National Park in southwest England
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VALERIE STIMAC PHOTOGRAPH: KEITH TRUEMAN. WITH
EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK