FORT DAVIS, Texas — To sit under the vast expanse of stars is to imagine swimming across shining, stellar rivers, creeks and tributaries. But to sit here also is to feel that lump in your throat and skip in your heart, realizing everything you know is far smaller than the majesty of the universe.
You could sense all of that during a recent stargazing party at the University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory, nestled high in the Davis Mountains. On a cool spring evening, dozens gathered at the edge of dusk, some walking with the help of a cane, others holding hands.
Comforted by the celestial canopy, a young couple embraced and kissed. Near them, a father and his young daughter waited to peer through a giant telescope that stood tall and fierce like a rocket ready for liftoff. The father pointed to what he thought might be the Pleiades star cluster — or maybe some other planet in the Milky Way.
