It was the last little while of day. A quick glance to the west caught the sun nesting in the treetops high atop the not-too-distant hills. From deep in the valley, the sun’s waning moments might have been considered sunset by some, but it really wasn’t. It was just the last dappling of sunlight before the sun slid down the backside of the hill, where its official setting awaited. In another 90 minutes or so, there’d be twilight, a colorful, celestial phenomenon hosted by the middle and upper atmospheres. In its last glimmer of radiance, dusk’s gloomy pall would swoop in, bring the moon, the onset of stars and every wandering thing in this vast enterprise we call the universe.

Many of us miss out on all or part of this, “The clockwork precision of the galaxy.” We either have no time, no interest or we’re just too lazy to drag out a lawn chair, sit and watch the day end. Mere specks in the universe, most of us are too preoccupied to sit down and witness one of nature’s greatest achievements,........

© Finger Lakes Times