Nowruz and the Night Sky

Overheard at National Geographic

Not everyone celebrates the New Year in the middle of winter; for 300 million people around the world, their New Year begins at the moment of the vernal equinox. The holiday of Nowruz celebrates that “new day” by encouraging us to make poetic connections between life and death, and past and present. National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi reacquaints us with the shimmering origins of this ancient Persian holiday; they are above our heads, shining in the night sky.

For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard.

Want more?

The International Dark Sky Association is working to protect our skies from light pollution. They can help you find your way to the starriest viewing on the planet.

As Nowruz approaches, it’s not too late to learn more about Iran’s long history of poets going back to more than 10 centuries.

Also explore:

If you’d like to create your own haft-sin table, check out these gorgeous examples for inspiration.

Babak Tafreshi has published a book of his beautiful night sky photography, The World at Night.

For subscribers:

Learn more about how light pollution is affecting our planet through images that Tafreshi captured.

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