(An engraving of Orion from Johann Bayer's Uranometria, courtesy of the US Naval Observatory Library)I was stargazing the other night. It was a rare winter night where the air temperature dropped below freezing. At the house, that normally means a light dusting of frost everywhere and.... amazingly clear night skies.
Most of the time, we don't notice all of the light pollution in the sky. Lights from street lights, advertisements, shops, and closed businesses tend to bleed into the air and add an ethereal glow to cities. Since I live on the edge of woodland, I can see the nightly bubble of light pushing above the trees in the distance. It's the light from the town of Duvall. For the most part, out where I am, it's pretty dark. Thankfully, the immediate neighbors don't feel the need to keep giant sodium lights on all night. Here are the recent great times I've had wandering in the darkness while out playing with Taiga:
- I got to play chase and fetch in the yard by the full moon. It's amazing how bright, cool and magical that pure moonlight looks and feels. The landscape is a pale and subtle bluish gray. All things seem blurry unless I focus on them and then they become as detailed as daylit objects. Taiga is inky black during the day. In moonlight, it's like playing with a silhouette... a dog-shaped. happy mystery. Oh, and the shadows.... moonlight casts shadows on those clear nights that are so deep.
- Clouds on moonlit nights look like floating crystal. Lately, as the skies clear, there are some nice clouds to watch. I've seen ocean waves washing on sand castles, a bunny, half-eaten birthday cake, and a dragon's head. It really looks as if the clouds are made of crystal when they are all lit up with moonlight.... and little terrestrial light coloring them from below.
- The constellation of Orion..... tripping and falling over the horizon. Two nights ago, it was rather clear and crisp as I got home from the gym. I ended up having a nice chat with Taiga outside and we walked around the yard. In the distance horizon, over the western hemlock trees across the meadow, was the constellation of Orion. He was tilted and leaning far more forward then he should have been. I chuckled to myself as it looked like a photo of someone tripping forward and falling. I imagined him falling through the heavens with a big "O" shaped mouth.... falling through the night and over the horizon. By 1am, he was well on his way for a face plant. Sorta serves him right as he was not really a nice fellow in the Greek mythologies. By some accounts, he tried to assault Artemis. By others, he claimed to be so great as to kill every animal in existence. In all of those old stories, I think he ended up dead. Charming, no?
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