Time Journeys Through the Night Sky

When looking into the sky at night, we engage in journeys across multiple temporalities. These time journeys can be measured in time varying from millennia to fractions of a second. Humans have long used these time journeys to locate themselves in relation to the planet and the universe, constructing stories about the relationship between the lights in the sky and the places where we live. This chapter explores the cultural geography produced by these stories, as legacies of humanity’s evolution in deep time that have helped people understand themselves and their planet. It also looks at how these time journeys are being threatened by light pollution, and how this is getting worse. Attempts to protect time journeys through the night sky have had only limited success, and this is producing interlinked cultural and ecological damage. As such, to protect time journey stories is a key step in ensuring broader sustainability and protection of the conditions for humanity to live on the Earth.