1. Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy
2. “Before we invented civilization our ancestors lived mainly in the open out under the sky. Before we devised artificial lights and atmospheric pollution and modern forms of nocturnal entertainment we watched the stars. There were practical calendar reasons of course but there was more to it than that. Even today the most jaded city dweller can be unexpectedly moved upon encountering a clear night sky studded with thousands of twinkling stars. When it happens to me after all these years it still takes my breath away.” - Carl Sagan
3. Contact directed by Robert Zemeckis
4. "I like turtles." - Jonathon
5. "By about age 12, I would prefer to stay up and watch the stars than go to sleep. I started learning. I started going to the library and reading. But it was initially just watching the stars from my bedroom that I really did. There was just nothing as interesting in my life as watching the stars every night." - Vera Rubin
With the rise of civilization, artificial lights had greatly impacted the visibility of stars in the night sky. It was especially bad in heavily populated areas where carelessness let unnecessary amounts of light pollute the night. Humans and ecosystems were adversely affected. Many did not even realize what they had lost.
Office buildings that emptied at night in the early 21st century still inexplicably left lights on. Outdoor advertisements were illuminated trying to convince people to buy soft drinks or call specific lawyers. Cars were still popular and needed bright headlights to operate relatively safely. Street lighting fixtures frequently let light bleed into the sky instead of directing it down. There were plans to deploy mega satellite constellations without fully understanding the impact on viewing the stars.
There was no single decision made, but humanity was forfeiting access to one of the greatest natural wonders there is for a significant portion of the population. Looking up at the vast cosmos had been shared and cherished by generations. It connected people in the past, present, and future.
The Prometheus Papers indicated that the night sky had been reclaimed, led by the efforts of the International Dark-Sky Association and the help of The Blue Shirts. The Dark Sacred Night became a formal name for the night sky, properly communicating the value of stars to the human spirit. It was a gift from one generation to the next so that it may inspire them to dream and contemplate their position in the cosmos.
Artificial lighting at night was culturally limited to only that which was absolutely necessary for safety with no tolerance for light that polluted out of negligence. Legislation was passed to minimize the impact of artificial light on the environment. Blue Shirts successfully implemented changes in their communities. The most treasured sources of light at night would forever be the light of the stars, and the light of the moon.