Perceptions of the sky in five metropolitan areas

Throughout history the sky has inspired and excited, induced a sense of tranquility and provoked feelings of fear and uncertainty in human kind. It provides a setting for viewing birds and planes, enframes scenic vistas, informs about meteorological phenomena and has had spiritual connotations since the earliest times of recorded history.

This paper reports on a study of metropolitan area residents' perceptions of the sky. Questions of awareness of the sky and potential differences in regional perceptions are explored. A brief historical review is presented highlighting how, at various times in the distant and recent past, the sky has been valued and perceived both as an object, as a background or setting against which objects are viewed, as a source of information and as a symbol. These images and perceptions provide a general framework for subsequent discussion of perceptions of residents of five metropolitan areas.