How many stars can you see?

I often go running very early in the morning (so that I can be back in time to help get the kids ready for nursery and school!). This morning, as I left my house, the skies were clear and dozens of stars were visible.

15 minutes later, in the small lanes outside the town, I stopped to look up again. This time, with less light pollution from street lights, houses, passing cars etc., I could see a lot more stars – hundreds, I guess.

It reminded me of a holiday to Kielder Forest in the North of England – this area has “Dark Sky” status, and the night sky on a clear night is amazing to look at - you can see the Milky Way. I also thought of my trek in Nepal 20 years ago, looking up an incredible number of stars from an altitude of >4,500m. 

Progressively taking away the light pollution lets us see more stars. Moving from the town centre to the countryside makes a big difference, but it’s not until we’ve journeyed to the top of a mountain (or indeed sent a telescope into space!) that we can really appreciate the sheer number of stars out there.

For me, Continuous Improvement means re-visiting a process multiple times. It means not stopping in the lanes, but rather keeping going until the Dark Sky zone is reached, and then mountain is climbed.

What do you think?