Connecting to our heritage and each other under the night sky

On Thursday eve­ning, 27 community members gathered at the Kanab City Library to hear Dr. Troy Allan of Utah State Universi­ty deliver an inspiring talk titled “Through the Lens, Beyond the Stars,” part of Stellar Vista Observatory’s ongoing SVO Speaker Series.

Left to right: Dr. Allan discusses audience members’ awe-inspiring experiences. Photos courtesy of SVO.

Dr. Allan began with a deeply personal story. He joined the military in August 2001, never imagining that the world would change one month later. Dur­ing a difficult deploy­ment, he found him­self struggling with stress and loss - until one night, he stepped outside with a fellow soldier and looked up. The vast, starlit sky filled him with awe, a feeling that shifted his perspective and eventually shaped his life’s work.

“The night sky gave me back a sense of meaning and balance,” he said. “It reminded me that I was part of something bigger.”

That moment sparked years of re­search into the psy­chology of awe and the importance of re­connecting with the natural night. Today, Dr. Allan studies how experiencing awe un­der the stars can re­duce stress, quiet the ego and strengthen feelings of connection.

“We live in a time of disconnection and iso­lation,” he told the au­dience. “When we lose the stars, we lose part of our heritage. The night sky links us to past generations be­cause they looked up at and were inspired by the same sky.” He also highlighted the importance of protect­ing what we have here in Kanab because only 20 percent of North Americans can still see the Milky Way from where they live.

One of Dr. Allan’s current projects , Skyward, is a cur­riculum designed to help teens find calm through guided night-sky experiences. It encourages sensory awareness, mindful­ness and social sup­port. “Awe and dark skies are forms of sensory reciprocity,” he explained. “They help us tune back in to the world and to one another.”

The presentation also touched on practi­cal steps for protecting dark skies, such as using shielded light fixtures, warm-colored bulbs and directing light only where need­ed. “We can all help,” he said. “Invite your friends, family and neighbors to share the night sky with you.”

Perhaps his most memorable line summed up the eve­ning’s message: “When we lose the night, we lose the map back to ourselves.”

And with a grin, he added: “Sometimes, we just need to get our butts kicked to get out and look at the beauti­ful sky above us.”