Winter stars
6am in the forest. Mars low in the west, an orange spark among the black pine branches. Two days of rain and southwesterly winds have washed away all the ice and snow, washed clear the sky: so clear the faint stars that make up the head of Hydra are visible.
Walking under winter constellations now. Orion has already vanished by the time I set off, only Betelgeuse visible above the horizon. The sickle of Leo high in the west. The irregular quadrilateral of Virgo in the south.
The night skies are deceptively full of movement these days - travelling points of light that turn out to be satellites, or high altitude planes - but still I saw two meteors, late Geminids, both bright, and one leaving a trail.
Walking the Dark Path through the conifers, I allowed myself to be distracted by the rising crescent moon, glimpsed over one shoulder; strayed, and got a face full of pine needles.
Walking under winter constellations now. Orion has already vanished by the time I set off, only Betelgeuse visible above the horizon. The sickle of Leo high in the west. The irregular quadrilateral of Virgo in the south.
The night skies are deceptively full of movement these days - travelling points of light that turn out to be satellites, or high altitude planes - but still I saw two meteors, late Geminids, both bright, and one leaving a trail.
Walking the Dark Path through the conifers, I allowed myself to be distracted by the rising crescent moon, glimpsed over one shoulder; strayed, and got a face full of pine needles.