Starlight

I stumble through the night

Wishing there were starlight.

The path is long and dark

Lacking any landmark.

Then as the end comes near

Strong winds arrive to clear

The sky of all that bars

The grandeur of the stars.

They shine on me below,

Offering their guidance,

And my starlight shadow

Walks with me in silence.

2021

(from the book Longing For The Light by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

Orion

Orion is one of the easiest constellations to find and, luckily for me, appears in the southwest sky which is the direction my windows face.

I was never able to capture the whole constellation in the frame but I could get the major stars and "objects" such as Orion's belt and sword.

You will need to click on the images to enlarge them.  Hopefully you have a touch screen or other way to further enlarge the first photo.  The four outer stars from upper left clockwise to lower left are:  Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel, and Saiph.  The inner stars can be seen better in the second and third photos.

Orion 

 

Orion's belt (first without names and then with names)

Orion's sword (first without names and then with names)

Venus and the Pleiades

April 3, 2020

I recently found out that during this first week of April, the planet Venus can be seen in "close proximity" to the star cluster known as The Pleiades (or Seven Sisters). I was lucky enough to get two nights when the clouds parted so that I could photograph them.  You will see how Venus "moves past" the cluster.

I did not use a tripod so the images are not the best but I was very excited to see The Pleiades as I had never seen them before, and in a city environment with lots of light, it was great to have Venus to guide me to them.

You can check out this article to see others' photos and learn more about these celestial bodies.

April 4, 2020