Beach Galaxies

Gazing up into the night sky, there were a million stars spread out against a deep black blanket covering the sky. The air was cool on this summer night, and all was quiet and still on the beach. The waves lapped gently onto the sand. As I strained my eyes to peer deeper into the twinkling lights, I could see faint stars still further behind the brighter ones, and distant clouds of star clusters. I could even make out barely visible tiny shooting stars so dim and faraway I thought they may be illusions.

There were not many outdoor lights glaring from homes back then, or an obvious glow emanating from the distant city that would diminish the number of stars that could be seen. Just bright stars against the blackness of space.

I lay there on the sand looking up into the timeless expanse. I didn’t know then about the nature of the speed of light, or how we are actually looking back in time when we gaze at the stars, that what we see is just a snapshot of how it used to be all those light years ago. Regardless, I knew the sight was incredible, and that the possibilities and unknowns of space were endless – even beyond my imagining.

Occasionally, I would notice a slow moving light. It looked like a star, but traveled across and past the others. I learned those were satellites, though there were very few back then compared to now. Eventually, I always started wondering about the possibility of alien life, and if there were life forms looking into their night sky, wondering the same thing.

A midnight dew began to settle on that late August night, and I decided to go back inside, into the warm well-lit home on the beach. I knew I’d be gazing up at the stars again on another evening very soon.

Casey Wilds