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[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 5 points 9 hours ago

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but it's what sprang to mind...

After abstaining from magic mushrooms for 2 years, fasting for 24 hours, then mid day, on that empty stomach, consuming uncounted tens of grams of dried, freshly fine-powdered, very strong northern psilocybe semilanceata, hot, in just lemon juice, and chugging that pint of thick mushroom super-lemony brew down as fast as I could. It started coming on FAST and STRONG. I ran the 3 strides to the bathroom sink with need to purge, which didn't last long nor purge much of it... clinging to the sink as I slumped down, with the trip immensity roaring at the doors bursting in at all the seams, I tried to steady myself, I meditatively focused on a drop of water, empathising with it likewise clinging to the underside of the sink. I empathised my way instantly to know where every molecule, and every atom, of the water in there, had ever been, and it was a short jump from there to realise I could do that with everything, ... and this was only in the beginning seconds of the hours long trip, the ability to see behind things, to know from every perspective, everybody, all time, all times, all dimensions all places... I cant speak to it really, only to say I remember I did experience it. Can't take it all back with you.

First exchange with other people after I came out of the toilet, friends had come around, one asked "how was it?", and with it all still being fresh, the immensity of having experienced omniscience, sought to offer what I thought was the most beautiful thing of it all... I said, with all glowing reverie "I know death". The look of horror on the poor dear's face though. Ho ho ho.

But yeah, get that... we mere mortals, many, all around, can experience omniscience.

And many are [and ever have].

Say hi.

[-] Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

When I was a kid, my stepdad set up a telescope so I could see Haley's comet in all its glory. I'll almost certainly be dead by the time it's back in 2061.

[-] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 hours ago

Last year the Northern Lights reached Southern New England and I got to see them from my porch!

[-] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Just recently I was driving down a road, it was sunset and the whole sky was just a very bright yellow like I’ve never seen before. With the black mountains (because the sun was behind) in the background as contrast it looked so amazing I thought „Damn you nature, you’re distracting me from driving!“. And because I was driving I couldn’t even snap a picture! People would say I photoshopped it anyways.

[-] themaninblack@lemmy.world 4 points 15 hours ago

Deep in the outback, there are more stars than you can imagine. The soil is so red.

Driving along the highway, seeing a single pair of headlights on the horizon for twenty minutes, combined with the dust and bug reflections in your headlights, and the sheer remoteness of it all, does things with your mind.

[-] justaman123@lemmy.world 3 points 15 hours ago

The grand canyon. How is it possible to see so much all at once?

[-] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 6 points 19 hours ago

Some shit I've seen scuba diving. The halocline where fresh water sits on top of salt water. When you disturb it, it gets all swirly and trippy looking.

[-] Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

I've witnessed ball lightning twice in my life. None of the crazy UFO style stuff, both cases the lightning was arching between clouds and just sort of balled up and hovered there for a few seconds before fizzling out.

A little more repeatable, I once stopped in the middle of nowhere in west Oregon at 2am. We pulled over on some rural road, turned off all the lights and just looked at the sky. It was the first time I'd ever been somewhere I couldn't at least see light pollution on the horizon. I grew up in a rural area, I'd always shown off the stars you could see out there, but the awe I felt in that perfect darkness seeing more stars than I'd ever managed before has actually soured my love of the sky. The sky at home looked so dull after that. I live in the city now and rarely see any stars, somehow I don't mind.

[-] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

Thank you for reminding me that I love living in Western Oregon. It's fucking beautiful here.

[-] hansolo@lemmy.today 18 points 1 day ago

Hands down, the Northern Lights are just crazy magic. I saw a particularly active night in Lapland, even the Finns said it was a good night. Full cinema-style wavy green bands in the sky. Undulating like snakes. Fast. So fucking fast. In terms of natural phenomena that should be mistaken for gods, this is the peak.

27/10, would see again all the time.

[-] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 3 points 1 day ago

That's crazy I hope I can see them in my lifetime. I thought they moved slowly over hours !

[-] hansolo@lemmy.today 3 points 9 hours ago

It shocked me how fast they move. Stone cold sober, staring up at the sky going "what the fuuuuuuuuck?" Because it's low light, it's hard to capture on video I guess.

[-] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Neat. I had seen some of those timelapse videos so I thought their movement was visible only when sped up. I shall visit either artic circle one day, and see for myself. I'm in the southern hemisphere so maybe.... South Africa ? Can I see them from SA ?

edit I can https://capetimes.co.za/news/environment/2025-06-03-aurora-australis-could-light-up-south-african-skies-this-week-heres-how-to-see-it/

[-] hansolo@lemmy.today 4 points 5 hours ago

Well, yes, but it's not the same thing as the acrtic/antacrtic circle.

The farthest south points of SA are around 34.4 degrees S. That's actually very close to the equator, relatively speaking. The Northern hemisphere equivalents are Cyprus, half of Tunisia, Rabat, Tehran, and then in North America, just north of Los Angeles, the entire Texas panhandle, and almost Atlanta. I have family that live just above that line, and back in May 2024 they couldn't actually see the northern lights, they could only see a faint red glow with their phones. Most good smartphone camera apps can take a slow enough shutter speed photo that it's better in low light at seeing them than our eyes. If you see those pictures of a red curtain, that's what you'll get. And you genuinely might not be able to see anything with your bare eyes.

The place I was at was 68.7 degrees North, so above the Arctic circle which is at 66.5 degrees. Up there the magnetosphere is more vertical, so the ions come straight down, which is why you get more dramatic ribbons. At lower latitudes the magnetosphere is more of an angle, so the ions slowly hit the atmosphere and give up energy slowly, not all at once. (At the equator, the earth's magnetic field is basically horizontal, which is so weird) Even Tasmania and southern Chile are, respectively, as far south as Marseilles and Edinburgh are north (or between Toronto and Ontario and the upper half of Newfoundland). Not exactly known for their aurora viewing spots unless there's a crazy solar storm.

If you look at the aurora ovals on https://spaceweather.com/ you can see that most of the action is close to Antarctica. Sadly, the Southern Sea really makes it hard to see good Southern Lights other than from Antarctica.

Here's a video from directly beneath one band, but it moves not exactly slowly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDSkj8Ns6H8&t=15

And this one as well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZeEoC4TuY&t=14

So it might depend on the day, but sometimes the bands will wobble or split or something quickly. And I should clarify that I say "quickly" and "fast" also because I was expecting the time lapse thing like you said, like it was going to be a static, barely moving curtain of green. It was "fast" not like some inflatable tube man thing, but more like the pace of a stream or small river. You can watch it change in front of you. It moved fast enough that other people staying where we were were outside maybe 10 meters away, and then a band would do something and they were cheering it and shouting "whaaa?!?!" It was quite the show, and it wasn't just me that thought so.

In terms of access and availability, if you're in the Eastern hemisphere, you can probably take Turkish airways to Finland in 2 flights for less than trying to get to Tasmania or Chile from the same place.

[-] flux@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

Total solar eclipse. I've seen a few. There is something so strange about the omnipresent sun you have lived with your whole life suddenly be gone and there is a black space that you can look at with your eyes where the sky used to be and everything is dark like the night. On a human level I'd image it's the closest thing I'll get to seeing the Earth from space. Once you see it you will absolutely understand why older civilizations wouldn't shut up about it. We understand almost everything about when it will happen and what it is but the experience you can never understand. If you live less than 6-8 hours away from a place you can see a total eclipse do it. An eclipse with glasses is OK but it is a million times more impactful looking at total blackness where the sun once was with your own eyes.

[-] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hmmm, it's certainly a million times more impactful on your retinas. Don't do this, never do this. Under no circumstances

Hmm, I looked it up because it seemed absurd and apparently when the eclipse is total, it's fine ?
Clarifications : https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety2.html

tldr : It's safe only during the span of time where the solar disk is entirely covered

Anyway to reply to your comment proper, I've seen one as a kid but it's too ancient to remember clearly. It was also right before I had my childhood fascination with the solar system so might not have fully appreciated it.

[-] locuester@lemmy.zip 8 points 21 hours ago

Ive seen two in the last decade. It’s surprisingly easy to know when it’s totality, and when it ends. Not only are there apps that do countdowns, but your eyes make it very clear if they’re disturbed by light or not.

Totality is incredible. A sight truly indescribable. A different color of white unimaginable, in a ring in the sky, animated like fire. I actually opened this comment section to come post this.

[-] flux@lemmy.world 1 points 23 hours ago

Yes. Lol. Total eclipse. Obviously never ever look at the eclipse until the sun is completely covered "totality". And even then have an alarm handy beforehand so you know when it will move out of the total eclipse phase.

[-] mech@feddit.org 11 points 1 day ago

I spent 2 weeks on the northern shore of Koh Tao in Thailand, around 20 years ago.
It was as close to an island paradise as I could imagine.
There were a few bungalows and a bar under palm trees, directly at a perfectly white sandy beach, surrounded by rainforest.
The sea was clear azure, with a reef you could snorkel in.
It's impossible to describe the beauty and serenity of the place.
We were the only guests. The next houses one bay over didn't have electricity yet.
One night we didn't finish our hike in time and almost got stuck in the forest in the evening, because it got so dark you literally couldn't see the ground anymore.
To get there you had to take three boat rides, then ride over unpaved roads on the back of a pickup truck for one hour.

Just checked the place out on Google Maps. It's now entirely built up with hotels.

[-] EtnaAtsume@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

Tragic ending.

[-] Theatomictruth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

My work has taken me to over 50 other countries and I’ve seen many amazing sights but I have to say the Grand Canyon in the US is the first thing that comes to mind.

The other was a very specific time and place; I was sailing an 18th century tall ship far off shore in the dead of night, no lights or engine noise. You could see so many stars along with the most intense meteor shower I’ve ever seen. Streaks in the sky every couple seconds, some so bright they lit the sky like a flash of lightning and left a green streak behind. The water was full of bioluminescence and we were being accompanied by dolphins playing in our bow wake that were also leaving trails of light in the water.

[-] bobo1900@startrek.website 5 points 1 day ago

The Alps are pretty freacking impressive. You see these enormous pointy rocks in the background and your brain knows how massive these mountains are. They are incredible.

[-] Boppel@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago

milky see effect. i don't even know if it's rare, but i've only seen it once and it was beautiful.

also the milky way with next to no light pollution. you can't see this in civilized areas, but our sky is shining brighter then i ever imagined and it is full of stars.

this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
30 points (100.0% liked)

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