For thousands of years, humans have looked to the stars and other celestial bodies as tools for navigation and inspiration. They orient you to your place in the universe.
In 1922, the International Astronomical Union formalized 88 official constellations. They remain in use.
In 2015, the United States Naval Academy returned celestial navigation, including sextant instruction, to its curriculum. It had been dropped nearly twenty years earlier. The cited reason was the vulnerability of GPS to cyberattack.
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Christmas Day 2021, orients itself using star trackers — cameras that compare the night sky to a catalog of known positions.
Growing up, my family spent a lot of time lying in open fields, looking at stars. I don’t need them for navigation, but I still use them to orient.
Every fall, Orion rises in the east — with the rabbit Lepus crouched at his feet. I feel oriented to my place.
Also, stars are just plain nice to look at. Feel free to stay a while.