In 2016 I began to document all the living things that I could find on our little quarter-acre lot. It's a fascinating adventure that will never be finished, as I continue to find new things in the yard and learn new things about the creatures I've found. But there are other things out there that can be seen and discovered from here.
When I began to look for things in the yard, I noticed that I was usually looking down. That's because, wherever you are, the living things that are around you are mostly small. Macroscopic life is, to a first approximation anyway, mostly insects, with a few plants, birds, and spiders thrown in.
But there are other things - big things - that can be observed from here, or anywhere you happen to be. You just have to look up.
I'm referring, of course, to the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
I began my celestial observations in the same way I began my biological ones, by just looking. Because, as the great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot by just watching."