‘If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.’

The words above were written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great environmental American writer. They capture perfectly the wonder we all feel when we look up at the night sky. Light pollution means that many of us who live in cities and suburbs are unable to see this nightly majesty in its full splendor.

There are, however, places on the planet that are lit up by the stars each cloudless night and allow us to wonder at the unimaginable vastness of the universe. The ten locations on this list are some of the most magnificent places on the planet to lie back and gaze at the heavens.

NamibRand Nature Reserve – Namibia

Camping out in the desert of Namibia is guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience. Amongst the sand dunes live leopards, hyenas, and giraffes, but it is the endless 360-degree view of the night sky that will live forever in your memory.

When the dark sky association was founded in 1988 to fight light pollution, they bestowed the honour of the first Gold Tier dark area to NamibRand Nature Reserve.   Continue reading →

“Is it a spirit?”

“Is it an angel?”

“Is it dust?”

“What is that?”

The photo has gone viral, raising discussions and arguments about the mysterious figure that is hovering over the crowd surrounding the fallen motorist at the scene of an accident.

Truck driver Saul Vazquez of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, was driving in Powell County on Tuesday, around 5:3o in the evening when he saw the collision. He snapped a picture with his phone, oblivious to the supernatural element he had captured within it. Vazquez took note of the ghostly character only afterward.

He posted the photo on Facebook, writing, “I took this picture just (a) few minutes ago from the cab of my truck it was an accident between Campton and Stanton on the service road just off of the mountain parkway, zoom in and pay attention to the shadow just off the top of the state trooper hat. All I say is I hope everyone involved is okay!!” Continue reading →

Pablo Picasso once said, “The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.”

The artwork produced has something about the subject in it, an energy captured in the stroke of a brush or the click of a camera’s shutter. When we then view artwork, we take on the emotions captured ourselves, begin to feel through the subject and see its spirit.

Norwegian Woods

Andreas Lie is an artist living in Norway who, through the use of digital double exposure, depicts a wide array of animals (a lot of the time, those that live in the landscape surrounding him) beautifully capturing their energy in a unique way.

The technique he uses marries the animal to its habitat, filling their physical body. Photographing both the creature and the landscape separately, he then digitally merges them, looking for similarities between the textures of the animals and the landscape they inhabit. Leaves, bark, and clouds blend with feathers, claws, and fur.

The finished work shows how these animals’ surroundings have become a part of them, just as they are a part of their surroundings. Many of the creatures have a rich history not only in the land but with the people with whom they shared that land. They appear in folklore and fairytales and demand respect from the people that share their habitat.

Here is a small selection of Lie’s collection, each animal’s spirit uniquely captured and displayed.

1. Continue reading →

Our zodiac signs reflect a lot about our personality and who we are – especially when we believe it. We all have compatible people in our lives, and sometimes their sign can be an influence on how well you get along.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Those born under the sign of Aries are no strangers to adventure. Your enthusiastic, dominating personality gives you the aura of confidence. You have energy in abundance, driving you to fulfill your ambitions. Be careful, though, since you have a tendency to be impatience and impulsive.

Your BFF is: Libra

Whenever you are acting impatient or too exuberant, your Libra friend can keep you in line. Libra is about balance which complements the Aries extremist mentality.

Don’t be concerned about being dampened. Libras also become ardent about their passionate causes. Continue reading →

Climate change’s current state and future projections are bleak – to say the least. That is…until now.

Engineers, scientists and chemists have bonded together on the quest to fight and reverse climate change’s grave consequences. To do so, there is a global movement to change a once villainized chemical, carbon dioxide, into our greatest confidante in the fight against global warming. According to scientists, this seemingly impossible task is not only possible…it’s happening right now, as we speak.

Carbon Dioxide: Faux Turned Friend

In 2014 alone, 35.9 metric gigatons (one gigaton equals one billion tons) of carbon dioxide were emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions, the biggest culprit of greenhouse gases are the byproduct of fossil fuels combustion, like coal and oil. Until now, carbon dioxide has the ultimate evil: destroying our ozone layer, exacerbating global warming effects.

Lynden Archer of Cornell University, changed the conversation. According to Archer, if carbon dioxide could be effectively repurposed, turned into chemical building blocks similar to plants, “carbon dioxide would not be a nuisance anymore, but a gift.” Continue reading →

Our growing knowledge of our world continues to show us that things aren’t always what they seem. Let’s take color, for example. According to the dailymail, most humans can see 10 million colors. Amazing, isn’t it?  Get this: according to sciencealert.com, a slight change in eye structure lets tetrachromat cDa29 see up to “99 million colors more than the rest of us“.

Color Clues

What’s a tetrachromat and how do we become one? It must be amazing to see that many more colors! Unfortunately, this is genetic, and not even all those with four types of cones can access this gift. Most people are trichromats instead.

Bees, on the other hand, can see ultraviolet colors that humans aren’t able to perceive.  Contrary to what it may seem, roses aren’t actually red and violets aren’t actually purple.

They appear that way thanks to the special nature of light, the absorption/reflection abilities of the objects we see, and the way our eyes are composed. Light travels in wavelengths which at some point shine onto objects (or landscapes). Continue reading →