Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Orion's Belt-Three Stars


Not enough time to blog these days, I have been star-struck.  What, have I been around movie stars or something?  NO, I mean real stars, you know, the ones in the sky?  For the past two mornings, when I am usually at my computer, I have been outside looking out at the beautiful sky.  We live on a high hill and when I stepped out and saw the quarter moon on Monday morning, there was bright Jupiter just beneath it.  And twenty-five degrees over, the three bright stars in a row...Orion's Belt.  There is a lot of light in our night sky, from streetlights and also from the light from a busy highway that we are close to, so I was very happy to observe these for the past two mornings.  This morning, the moon was waning, but it was still very bright and beautiful.  And even with all the lights, because it was clear, I was able to see lots of stars, which was very exciting for me.  (So much more exciting than taking out cat litter, which is what made me be outside so early on Monday morning.)
You will never hear me describe something as being twenty-five degrees from something, but in my reading on astronomy, I have read that one fist equals ten degrees so by that reckoning, Orion's Belt was 2 1/2 fists to the right so...twenty-five degrees, right?  Please forgive me if any of this information is not correct, Richard is the one who knows astronomy, not me!  (The three stars have names and they are:  Mintaka, Alnitak, and Alnilam.)

And this last photo might look like an alien planet...but it is from the top of Stone Mountain and that is Atlanta in the distance.  This was taken just this past Sunday on the most beautiful day!  Wait until you see the yellow daisies, they were at their peak and they covered the mountain in a magnificent display.  They deserve their own post, so look out for the yellow daisies...it reminded us of being on our bluebell walk in England, only with yellow flowers instead of blue.  Oh, and they smelled heavenly!

24 comments:

  1. I can only recognize 3 constellations -- Orion (because of the belt) and the Big and Little Dippers. Clearly my astronomical knowledge is, shall we say, limited.

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    1. Ha, me and you both!
      Here is my secret...the reason I had to do this post is because every time I see these 3 stars, I have to ask Richard what they are. Yes, EVERY SINGLE TIME! Hopefully by doing this post, I can stop asking him.
      (Yes, he is a saint, that is why I married him!)

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  2. What a nice post! In Charlotte, with so much light competing, the stars aren't very bright or clear. At the beach, we sat on the deck most nights and looked at the stars because they were SO CLEAR. You might recall that I saw six shooting stars and the Milky Way (a first for me!). It's so vast and beautiful ~ and it makes me feel so, so small. Not necessarily a bad feeling, eh?

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    1. Thank you! And yes, I do remember that you saw those shooting stars and the Milky Way. Lucky you! And looking up at the universe and realizing how big it all is and tiny little me is allowe to be a part of it? It's awesome.

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  3. Check your browser for add-ons. Look for one called 'Stellarium.' You will like it.

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    1. Thank you and I will keep it in mind if I ever find my browser and figure out how to do add-ons.
      You might think I am kidding. I am not.

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  4. We have had a lot of rubbish weather lately but we have a clear sky tonight with sparkling stars. An amazing sight!

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    1. Is New Zealand the country that wants a new flag that has stars on it? Didn't they say something about that in the Olympics? You must get a great night sky where you live!

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  5. With so much "light pollution," it's hard to see the stars around here, too. It is fun to step out at times, though, and look up to see what we can.

    Taking out cat litter -- your life sounds a lot like mine in that respect.

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    1. If we have to be toting a sack of ...., we might as well look at the stars! (Let's make a T-shirt business out of that, shall we?)

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  6. That was one of the things that I enjoyed so much at GB's - seeing the stars. There is far too much light pollution where I live. And with the adjacent trees and buildings I'm lucky if the moon is in the right part of the sky.

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    1. We also have some very tall trees to contend with, if there is anything on the horizon, you can forget it...too many trees here, but that is why I have an ache in my neck this week, from looking up at the stars!

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  7. Great post! We only see the very bright stars because of the city lights.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. And I know just what you mean, but we have the bright lights but is mostly from all the cars and gas stations and McDonalds and car lots, you get the idea!

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  8. Lovely post, Kay. I see a lot of stars in the city I live in now, but don't really recognize what I'm looking at. I'm so bad at astronomy; my husband is much better at it and points things out. My previous city, which was much, much bigger, we didn't see that many stars. Too much pollution??

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    1. Richard is the astronomy person in our household. I am forever asking him questions, he patiently answers me each and every time. Honestly, you would think I could remember! Hopefully, with this post, I won't have to ask him about Orion's Belt anymore. You know, in my reading, I see that the Pyramids in Egypt are thought to be in alignment with the three stars of Orion's Belt, that they were built because of them. Pretty fascinating, isn't it?

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  9. I enjoy star gazing too, although I'm terrible at naming what I'm seeing. I really like Jupiter, because I get it right, lol!

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    1. I bet you get some really clear big skies out west, don't you? And even if we don't know all their names, we can still appreciate the beauty, right? (LOL right with you!)

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  10. We went to the top of Stone Mountain a few years ago when visiting my cousin who lives in Norcross. It was such a spectacular sight in mid-November. We hope to return if we take a southern road trip in January. Do you live near Norcross or Stone Mountain, Kaye...maybe we could meet someplace along our route.

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    1. Yes, we live near Stone Mountain. Let me know in January and we can climb Stone Mountain together! Speaking of which, I just did a post on Stone Mountain, check it out!

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  11. I would love to see the bluebells too. Stone Mountain sounds like such an amazing place. Those golden flowers are truly awesome and breath-taking.

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    1. The bluebells were truly amazing in England, just as the yellow daisies are at Stone Mountain. Can you tell that we love wildflowers?

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  12. Thanks for replying to my blog. I will look into reading more from other people. Paul Simon once used a line in "Boy in the Bubble" "The way we look to a distant constellation dying in the corner of the sky" It's one of the things a time traveler from our time would find so interesting in the past, the sheer beauty of the stars revealed without the glare of the horizon. And while it's still possible to see these stars, out on a cruise ship, for instance, or in some field in the rural parts of Georgia, I doubt that everything can be seen even from Stone Mountain. I remember looking at the stars from my home in Oklahoma City in the 1980's, and so much more could be seen (course, there were no trees there). I could easily see Gemma, the main star in the Northern Crown, next to Lyra and Cygnus. But most children will now have no knowledge of the stories and patterns above their heads, for they will not see them. At Borders, I always kept a copy of H.A. Rey's _Find the Contellations_ in stock. A must own for any parent wanting to introduce Astronomy and the stars to their children. Ideas taken from: http://denzilpugh.blogspot.com/2011/01/dying-in-sky.html. (I've written down so many of these thoughts that I can refer to them at almost any posting.)

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    1. Well, Hello there! It is nice to meet you in blogland and you are even in Rockdale County. That's a cool thought. (And I NEVER use the word "cool"!) If you are interested, you should click on any of these nice folks who are my followers and read their blogs.I am telling you, they are the BEST!
      I have been to Oklahoma just once in my life, but I remember the night sky with all the stars very well. My husband is the one with the knowledge of astronomy, I am just a beauty-seeker, that is my job in life! I like the idea that you always had that book in stock for children, looks like some adults (like me!) could use it too.
      Thanks again for becoming a new follower. I am on my way to 100. Woo Hoo, I might have a party!

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