“A Visceral Experience” Through an Interview with Dr. Brian Espey
“The night sky is a mind-bending way to use the stars as a time machine through astronomy.”
— Dr. Brian Espey
By Chassity Cheng
Dr. Brian Espey, an associate professor at Trinity College Dublin, is an observational astrophysicist who has traveled all over the world to teach about the importance of dark skies.
On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, I interviewed Dr. Brian Espey of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, who has traveled the world watching the dark sky and studying astronomy. We communicated for roughly half an hour through a Zoom meeting, where Dr. Espey's virtual background was a beautiful photograph of someone looking up at a very clear dark sky, illuminated solely by the Milky Way. It was such a beautiful spectacle that Dr. Espey has actually seen numerous times before, I was astonished to find, yet I have never seen it once.
It really surprised me that the beauty that seemed almost unreal could be so easily viewed by the naked eye had I either gone far enough from the city or if light pollution wasn't so detrimental. Thus, the damage done by light pollution is, in part, the reason why Dr. Espey goes out to numerous parts of the world to teach about environmental issues, dark skies, and how if we're not careful, light pollution will leave us with a planet where the stars are barely visible anymore, robbing future generations of a beautiful opportunity.
A city with many skyscrapers, most of which are lit by yellow lights. The sky is not yet dark, as the clouds are still tinted slightly purple and blue, but the city lights are already bright. (Andreas Brucker (@andreasbruecker) via Unsplash)
His travels were also directed by the chance to experience different viewpoints in other regions of the planet where dark skies are more prevalent, namely parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where the land is higher and the center of the Milky Way is clearer. I was extremely envious of Dr. Espey as he shared with me his adventures following the dark sky, which took him to places all around the world, from Baltimore, Maryland—home of the Space Telescope Science Center—to Cambridge, England, where he received his PhD. Dr. Espey also talked about the famous Hubble space telescope, which one of his colleagues used to take images of the sky that were then sent to Paramount and used in a Star Trek movie!
The pictures of space above the Star Trek consoles on the bridge were taken by Dr. Espey’s colleague. (Courtesy Dr. Brian Espey)
Additionally, he shared with me the reason for his passion in following and studying the stars, which is founded in his "visceral experience of seeing the Milky Way and how that makes you feel small, but part of something bigger." In realizing that every bright point in the sky is another sun, it puts into perspective for him that there is a much greater universe out there and it is extremely fascinating that we are looking at "the long-term picture," which is the same stars that cavemen before us saw. He painted the idea of the night sky as a "mind-bending way to use the stars as a time machine through astronomy," because some of the stars we're looking at actually existed even before our daytime sun did!
It was a privilege to speak with Dr. Espey and learn so much about his experiences with the dark night sky, so much so that I sincerely hope I get the opportunity to view the beautiful Milky Way soon as well. But until then, I have appreciated hearing it from his account and am looking forward to learning from other astronomers.