Blown Away by the Stars: My Beginner’s Dive into Astronomy

Across the Light-Years

A journey into the stars, seen through curious eyes.

After learning just a little bit about astronomy, I can’t help but feel emotional in the best of ways. If I understand this correctly, the stars I see shining tonight are carrying light that was created in the skies when my my Honey (my grandmother) was still alive. That thought gives me a sense of connection I once believed was lost forever.

Perhaps that’s why gazing at the stars has always brought people comfort. Maybe they truly are a bridge to our ancestors, a reminder that love stretches across time and space. And who knows? Decades from now, my granddaughter may look up at the night sky with her own granddaughter and see the light that was born when I was alive. Maybe she’ll feel my presence and tell her, “Your Honey was fun, adventurous, and full of life.”

Lately, I’ve found myself utterly fascinated by astronomy. It all started with a podcast featuring astronomer David Kipping, and within the first few minutes, my mind was already swirling with questions.

How many solar systems are there? What does it mean when something is 20 light-years away? And if it takes years for light—or even a photograph—to travel across space, how could humans ever explore places so far away?

Since I know I can’t be the only one asking these questions, I thought I’d start a little series here on the blog—beginner’s lessons in astronomy, written as I learn them myself. So here’s what I’ve discovered so far.

🌌 How many solar systems are there?

When we talk about our Solar System, we’re talking about the Sun and all the planets, moons, and asteroids orbiting it. But our Sun isn’t the only star out there with planets—far from it!

Astronomers have confirmed over 5,600 exoplanets (planets outside our Solar System) in thousands of other planetary systems. And that’s just scratching the surface. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, likely has billions of planetary systems. Imagine: every star in the night sky could be its own version of a “solar system.” That alone gives me chills.

And here’s where it gets even more incomprehensible:

• Our Solar System is about 4.6 billion years old.

• The universe itself is about 13.8 billion years old.

Which means that in the grandest scheme of things, we are unimaginably small. Not even a speck of dust—maybe just a sparkle floating in a beam of starlight. And yet, we are here, alive, breathing, and able to look up and marvel at it all.

⏳ What does “20 light-years away” mean?

A light-year sounds like a measurement of time, but it’s actually a measure of distance. It’s how far light can travel in one year—about 6 trillion miles.

So if a star is 20 light-years away, the light we see from it tonight actually left 20 years ago. We are always looking into the past when we look at the sky.

🚀 Could we travel there in 20 years?

Not with today’s technology. Right now, our fastest spacecraft is Voyager 1, which has been traveling since 1977 and is still moving at over 38,000 miles per hour. Even at that incredible speed, it would take tens of thousands of years to travel just 20 light-years.

Even if we could someday travel close to the speed of light, time itself gets strange. Thanks to Einstein’s theory of relativity, time slows down for the traveler. That means astronauts on board might feel like only a few years had passed, while back on Earth, decades or centuries would tick by. Wild, right?

📸 Why would a photo take years to reach us?

If we had a spacecraft orbiting a star 20 light-years away and it snapped a photo, the picture (sent as a radio signal) would take 20 years to travel back to Earth—because signals also move at the speed of light.

So when an astronomer says we’d have to “wait years for a photo,” that’s what they mean. If the probe were only 4 light-years away, like at Alpha Centauri, the picture would take 4 years to return.

🥗 How could humans survive a long trip like that?

That’s one of the big puzzles. Carrying food and water for decades isn’t realistic. Scientists imagine solutions like:

• Recycling everything (the way space stations already recycle water).

• Growing food onboard through hydroponics or algae.

• Generation ships, where multiple generations of people are born, live, and die during the journey.

• Or even hibernation-like “cryosleep”, which is still science fiction for now.

Right now, interstellar travel is more dream than reality—but dreaming is often the first step toward discovery.

🌱 What this makes me reflect on

Thinking about these vast timescales and distances doesn’t make me sad—it makes me grateful. It humbles me, and it makes me want to live with more intention.

It makes me sad for people who waste their lives with blinders on, acting as though they are the center of the universe and only their small circle matters. The truth is, when we see ourselves in the context of the cosmos, it becomes clear that every person matters—and that our brief time here is precious.

I had my children in my early 20s, and it was incredible—I loved it. My marriage didn’t last, and for years I sometimes felt guilty about that. But when I look at the bigger picture, I realize that while their father and I weren’t right for each other, we were meant to create them. Without that, there would be no granddaughter lighting up my world today, and no ripple of whatever contributions my children, and their children, and their children’s children will bring into this world.

Rather than regret, I choose to believe everything happens for a reason. What is meant to be will always be. And when we remember that we each get such a small window of time in the universe’s story, doesn’t it make more sense to live our lives fully? To choose love, joy, kindness, and purpose—not someone else’s expectations, and not a life designed to impress others?

✨ Why this matters to me

As I listen and learn, I keep thinking about my granddaughter. Someday, I would love to teach her about the stars—not as something distant and unreachable, but as something alive with wonder. I wish someone had taught me when I was a little girl.

So maybe this little series will become that lesson, not just for her but for anyone else who wants to look up at the night sky and feel a little more connected to the universe.

Astronomy has a way of reminding us how small we are, but also how big our imaginations can be. And I, for one, am excited to keep learning.

💛 Honey