I met the universe

"I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe." - Richard P. Feynman

When you look up into the night sky, at once both pitch black and shining bright with millions - no, billions - of blazing white specks of light, knowing that the balls of fire have been shining in the same sky for as long as the universe, tiny is how you feel. Tiny is all you can feel.



When you're alone, and it's so dark that you can't even see anything around you, when your eyes take 20 minutes and not five to adjust to the darkness, when there's nothing above you but the great universe and the Milky Way and everything in it and other galaxies and black holes and all sorts of strange and wonderful astronomical things we haven't even begun to fathom, it is truly humbling.





Humbling, and awe-inspiring.





I don't have any pictures of this, but I also got to see some space junk burning up in the atmosphere and leaving a blazing trail across the night sky.  I'd just stepped out my door when it started coming across the sky with the most beautiful tail - unfortunately my jaw was on the floor when I saw it and I was too stunned to take out my camera!

It was like this huge meteor had broken up and was coming down onto earth - great balls of fire, coming across the sky. At first I thought it was a firework, but then I realised it couldn't have been - then I thought it was a proper meteor, and it wasn't until I read about it on the BBC that I found out it was space junk!

That was a completely unexpected and amazing extra treat for the girl who travelled to see the stars.

Never mind that it was cold. So cold I was wearing three coats, two socks, tights, winter boots, and yet my fingers were so cold that they hurt and I couldn't feel my nose.





We don't realise how fragile light is until you understand exactly how dark it has to be for the stars to come out - you look outside and you think it's dark, but it's nothing compared to the darkness you need for stars to be seen.

It was truly one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen in my life.

After a brilliant night like that, there's absolutely nothing better than to wake up to a morning that looks like this:



















And that, my friends, is when the beauty of nature inspires in you such awe that you cannot understand how anyone could not love something of such magnificence. After all, we are creatures of this earth, and it must be our duty to do everything we can in our power to protect and cherish the diversity and wonders of the earth.





I love travelling. I love seeing the world and everything it has to offer.

The other day, I was watching season 7 of Doctor Who - the Power of Three - on BBC1, and one  beautiful short monologue by the Doctor in particular struck me.

"This is one corner of one country in one continent of one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing, shrinking, creating, destroying, never remaining the same for a single millisecond and there is so much, so much to see. Because it goes so fast. I am not running away from things, I am running to them, before they flare and fade forever."



And that is all.

All images taken from the banks of Loch Ken in Galloway, south-west Scotland.

If you haven't read already:

Part 1: There's always silver lining

Part 2: Having a good time anyway

Part 3: Before they had cars