i am at the bar i work at,
\nor else on the bus on the way home.
\nthe city of austin is comfortable and easy.<\/p>\n
sometimes you forget you are in a major city
\nuntil you look at the sky, and you can not see the stars.<\/p>\n
“when the universe was very young, it was so hot
\n[that] electrons and protons jumped around,
\nand photons of light scattered constantly.<\/p>\n
they couldn’t travel very far before scattering again,
\nso the universe was opaque.<\/p>\n
but then, around 380,000 years after the big bang,
\nthe universe cooled just enough for electrons
\nand protons to form hydrogen.<\/p>\n
suddenly, abruptly,
\nphotons decoupled from this obstacle course
\nand could travel relatively unencumbered.<\/p>\n
the universe became transparent to light”
\nbut you can not see the stars here.<\/p>\n
we have reversed this process
\nin every way that is meaningful to us.
\nin places where we live, the stars are blotted out
\nby our heat and youth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
i am at the bar i work at, or else on the bus on the way home. the city of austin is comfortable and easy. sometimes you forget you are in a major city until you look at the sky, and you can not see the stars. “when the universe was very young, it was … <\/p>\n