Chatting with my 10 year old neighbor changed how I see light pollution

He asked why I always cover my eyes when I go outside at night, and I told him it takes 20 minutes for my eyes to adjust. He said "so why don't you just wait inside with the lights off?" and I realized I've been ruining my night vision for years by checking my phone before stargazing. Anyone else ever been schooled by a kid on basic astronomy habits?

2 comments

2 Comments

kais678d ago

Kid just dropped the most humbling truth bomb I've gotten since my nephew explained why my phone wallpaper was "cringe." I'm out here covering my eyes like some kind of vampire while I've got a flashlight in my pocket that I use to check Twitter every 30 seconds. The worst part is I bet that ten year old has better stargazing habits than I do and I've been doing this for like fifteen years. Guess I'm going to start sitting in the dark for a full 20 minutes like a very patient vegetable before I go outside.

paulw637d ago

My buddy tried that whole "sit in the dark for 20 minutes" thing last week and fell asleep in his living room. Woke up at 3am with his face stuck to the couch leather and missed the entire meteor shower he was prepping for.