On starry winter evenings, I’m always pleasantly surprised to step out on my back porch and see the constellation Orion glittering in the southeastern sky. It’s like seeing an old friend. Orion was one of the first constellations I recognized as a child and that’s because he is hard to miss with his belt of three glittering bright stars. A little to the lower right of that belt is the much photographed Orion Nebula. Invisible to the naked eye, I make a note to get my telescope out and take a look at the nebula, one of these busy nights. The Orion Nebula is not-so great in binoculars or amateur telescopes; it appears a fuzzy blob. But it’s very cool to see and know it’s there.
I could go on and on. Betelgeuse glows red at the top of Orion’s club which is raised to threaten Taurus the Bull. Taurus glares back with the equally red and glowering star Antares. Below both antagonists shines Sirius, the brightest star of all. Sirius is the fourth brightest object in th e sky after the sun, moon and Venus.
Orion is the quintessential constellation of Winter. Each year he rises in the Fall as a harbinger of Winter. He then presides over the cold starry nights until he sets in the spring. The setting of Orion coincides with the rising of Scorpio. In the mythos of the constellations, Scorpio bites and kills Orion who dies and sets below the horizon. That is of course until next autumn when it all happens all over again.
Impromptu star gazing is on of the few benefits of it getting dark early in the cold, chilly winter. In the warmer months, the sun would be up as I dash off to run errands after work or pick up my wife.
But that’s certainly nice too.
copyright 2019 Christopher Donahue