Orion

 

I plan to post a poem a week for the next several months so today I start with the poem "Orion".  The photograph above shows the three stars which make up Orion's Belt.

Orion

In dreams so deep

Orion calls –

Aroused from sleep

His chant enthralls.

I raise my head,

Look to the sky –

Rise from my bed

Where sorrows lie.

The stars are mine,

Orion's gift –

I watch them shine,

My spirits lift

And as my eyes

Drink in their light,

I know love lies

With me tonight.

2018 

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Stars and Planets

Recently Mars and Uranus were "close" in the sky and I managed to get a shot.  It is great when a planet as easy to find as Mars, can act as a "landmark" to find another.

The other pair of photos is of the bright star Aldebaran with its accompanying star cluster called The Hyades.  I have identified the brightest stars of the Hyades with the letter "H".

Sky Watching

A recent quest of mine was to find the Big Dipper.  I associate it with my childhood when I could go out any clear night and find it easily.  These days with more lights (including powerful security lights) installed in the neighbourhood, I wasn't very hopeful.  However, with the use of a wonderful app called "Stellarium", I found it directly overhead and also found a nook between two buildings which blocked most incidental light so that I could get a good look at it and photograph it.  

Here is a photo "as is" and then the same image but with the names of the major stars added.  You will need to enlarge the images to get a better look (click on the image).

I also wanted to capture Venus and several accompanying stars and the moon (below).  The moon was a crescent but I wasn't able to reduce the exposure to show that without losing all the other celestial bodies.  You will definitely need to enlarge/expand this photo!

Now here is the crescent moon as I love it!  I find it such a beautiful phase of the moon.

And, lastly, here is the Flower Moon supermoon.  The exposure is not what I was going for but somehow I like the final result.