There are places on Earth where gazing at the starry night sky evokes more than awe and wonder. It becomes a silent reminder of our origins. We are literally stardust come to life, born from the remains of exploded stars.

The Mesa Arch in the Canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau is such a place. A rock gateway, which appears to have fallen out of time at night, opens a portal into infinity. Lingering here under the stars will not make you feel insignificant and small – but part of the whole again.

The Arch is composed of reddish Wingate sandstone, which dates back to the Jurassic dinosaur period over 200 million years ago. At that time, all land masses were united in the supercontinent Pangaea and North America was a desert the size of today’s Sahara. Massive sand dunes moved across the land and solidified into rock over time. Millions of years of shaping by wind, water and frost erosion have formed Mesa Arch.

The cosmic expanse of the northern arc of the Milky Way unfolds above the arch: on the left is the well-known “W” of Cassiopeia, in the center is the bright summer triangle, consisting of the stars Atair in the constellation of Eagle, Vega in Lyra and Deneb in Swan.

The view through this stone gate opens up a window of space and time into formation and decay, into periods of time that take our breath away – and perhaps also give it back. On such a night, geology, astronomy and experience transform into something greater: a silent invitation to remember our roots, who we are and what a unique planet we are privileged to live upon.