One of my favorite things about Shenandoah National Park is its night sky. Check out the Big Dipper. It's pretty easy to spot. But do you know the story of Meizar and Alcourt? See the handle of the Big Dipper? Of the three stars that make up the handle, look at the one in the middle. How many stars do you see there? Let's zoom in. This is Meizar, and this is Alcourt. The name Meizar comes from the Arabic word for covering or apron. Alcourt comes from the word for forgotten or neglected one. They're also known as the horse and rider. It's a binary star system used as an eye test as far back as the 14th century. If you could see both stars, doctors knew you had sharp vision. It was long known to be a binary star system or two stars orbiting each other. But in the year 1617, Benedetto Castelli wrote to his friend Galileo to confirm that Meizar itself was a binary star system. Making Meizar A and B the first ever binary star discovered through a telescope. But wait, there's more. Almost 300 years later, Scientists developed the spectroscope, which is a device that uses a prism to split the light coming in from a star and analyze its patterns so you can learn more about the star. Scientists turn spectroscopes on to Meizar A and B and discovered that they were both binaries themselves. And then, just in case you thought everything we learned about stars happened hundreds of years ago, just in 2009, using today's most modern telescopes, two independent teams of astronomers found that Alcourt is also a binary system for a final count of six stars orbiting each other and making up the point of light that we see as the middle star of the handle of the Big Dipper, how cool is that? Not only are the horse and rider fascinating scientifically, but they have a pretty cool cultural significance too. In India, the two visible stars orbiting each other represent a marriage that's still a part of some Hindu wedding ceremonies to signify how close the couple will become in marriage. In Japanese mythology, Alcourt is called Junyoboshi or the Lifespan star. It was legend that whoever couldn't see the star would die by years end. There are other unique stories and tons of cultures, including Taoism, German, Nygmook, Chinese, English, Ancient Greek, Latin and Arabic. This barely scratches the surface of all the cool stories we can tell about the night sky. But humanity has been losing the connection to these stories now more than ever. As populations have grown, energy needs have increased, and more light pollution has spilled into the night sky. I can explain better if I show you a map, step into my office. This map shows just how much light pollution is spilling into your night sky, with red and pink areas like Washington DC being brighter and darker areas being represented by blues and grays. As you can see here in Shenandoah National Park, our skies are pretty good. They range from about a category 3 to a category 4. If you drive over into West Virginia, you can find a category 2 sky. But how far do you have to drive to find a category 1 sky, a truly dark sky? Well, it turns out there's really not a lot of options. Your fastest way would be to take a 5-hour drive to the beach, but then you have to take another hour boat ride into the ocean to get to a truly dark sky. If you don't have a boat, your next best option would be a 13-hour drive to Maine, and you can visit Baxter State Park. The next option after that is about a 20-hour ride into Nebraska. As you can see, pretty much the entire eastern United States is covered in too much sky glow to even see the Milky Way galaxy that we live in. The light pollution we live in disconnects us from the universe we live in, and it makes it harder to see the big picture. But it's much more than just a philosophical connection to the universe. Because we evolve to live in light during the day and complete darkness at night, light pollution has adverse effects on our health, from psychological effects to disturbing circadian rhythms. Some studies show light pollution even increases the risk of cancer. It's not just humans. Other animals are being disrupted and even killed from light pollution. Birds, sea turtles, frogs, insects, and other animals have trouble navigating. They're often drawn into cities during migration, causing birds to fly into buildings and millions of other animals to die every year. So, what can you do? Advocate for lights that are lower in temperature. That means that they look more red in color instead of blue. Blue or white lights spreads out more in the sky more so than red or orange. You can make sure your lights are shielded from pointing to the sky. Use motion sensors or timers whenever possible. Here at Shenandoah, we're replacing our old lights with updated technology that incorporates these ideas. No one is saying that we need to turn off all the lights and live in complete darkness. But efficient lighting helps us in a lot of ways. The health benefits are of course the most important. But I must say, seeing these beautiful night sky pictures taken here in Shenandoah ain't so bad either. These tiny dots of light are so much more than a pre-pattern to appreciate. They are an endless stream of scientific data beaming into our telescopes. They are shining into the eyes of stargazers curious about what life forms might be orbiting around those stars. They're hitting the sensors of cameras, of nighttime photographers that are capturing the beauty of this planet. And they're connecting us to our ancestors who use them to navigate, tell stories, and bond with their loved ones. And I hope you'll agree that that's worth protecting. I'm Ranger Scott and I'll see you around Shenandoah. Thanks for watching.