No, not really. They're out all the time. Stars I mean. Those heavenly wonders that have existed since the beginning of time. You see them only when the competing light sources, such as the sun, no longer fill the sky and clouds no longer shield them from view. But then do you really see them?

Like millions of Americans, you probably still can't see them except for the most prominent ones. If the moon does not interfere, then most assuredly all man-made source of light will compete. The street lamps, parking lot lights, buglite from the porch, headlights, lights from every window in your house or your neighbor's house. All of these sources of light compete to steal the darkness necessary to see this spectacle.

Recently while I was camping in eastern Utah, I was astounded by the night sky. I left my tent and warm sleeping bag at about 1:30 am. (The reason is unimportant now but it was urgent at the time!) I was stunned by a sky that was entirely filled with stars. I had seen it before but it felt as though I was seeing them for the first time. The Milky Way stretched clear across the apex of the sky. Constellations were clearly visible. Cassiopeia's "W" in the lower part of the sky. Ursa Major and Minor. The Summer Triangle high in the sky, and Vega (the future "North Star" in about 12,000 years). Lacerta, the lizard, zig-zagged between Cygnus and Cassiopeia. Below and to the south, Capricorn.

And a stillness that was broken, not by the sound of a car, or airplane, or siren, but rather by an owl, or cicada, and wind that blew across the desert sand, thru Skyline Arch and the red rock monoliths that surrounded me.

How much we miss of the simple pleasures and nature by being too close to civilization. Our children are being cheated out of the wonders of the night skies, only to be replaced by mediocre planetarium simulations. Light pollution, while not an immediate danger, is slowly depriving us of a wonder that was never taken for granted by ancient cultures such as the Aztecs or Incas.

This is a declaration of War! One night each year, say June 21st, strike back on conspicuous consumption of energy by turning off all unnecessary lights between the hours of 10pm and 5am, gather the family onto the front yard, invite the neighbors, and witness the heavens come to the Earth.