Goodbye, Orion

4/2/06 –4/8/06

By C. Zaitz

This month we say goodbye to Orion, the mighty Hunter. He’s been with us for months, and he will be missed as the most famous star group of winter. Orion is one of the boldest constellations in the sky due to the seven bright stars outlining his body. Especially noticeable are the three stars of his belt, and the lack of stars in his head. Maybe his head is faint because he can’t see. He was said to have been blinded as a punishment for repeatedly getting into trouble over women. He wandered around blind for awhile until the Sun restored his vision. If that is true, Orion is now wandering toward the Sun to regain his sight. Each night you will see Orion take another step into the western sunset. Perhaps next fall when he once again rises in the morning his vision will be restored.

Crouched behind Orion is the constellation of Leo the Lion. He will take the place of Orion as the center of attention in the evening sky. The big cat’s head looks like a backward question mark and the rest of him is marked by three stars that make a triangle. Behind Leo toward the east is the bright star Arcturus. You can find this star by locating the Big Dipper, which is high in the northern sky. The handle of the dipper makes a curve or an arc, and if you follow that arc with your finger, it will gracefully swing down to Arcturus. “Arc to Arcturus,” then straight down from there to another star called Spica, the grain of wheat. Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo. It’s handy to use a good star map and/or visit your local friendly Ensign Planetarium! For star maps try http://www.skymaps.com.

Constellations can be like old friends, once you get to know them. What are they but points of light in the sky, scattered through the galaxy? They would look completely different from some other distant solar system. Orion and Hercules, Virgo and Andromeda are only figments of our imaginations. But maybe they are something more, something deeper. Maybe when we see the stars of Orion disappear into the evening twilight we remember that time is passing, seasons are changing, and even the stars must flow with the current in the river of time. There is an old saying attributed to Heraclitus: you cannot step into the same river twice, for other waters are ever flowing onto you. It is the same with the stars; though Orion will be back next fall, time will have passed and it will be a different sky, or perhaps a different you looking at it. That is an exciting and daunting thought.

Time has not yet dimmed the appearance of the lovely Venus in the eastern morning twilight. Jupiter also still can be seen in the early morning hours in the west. Mars and Saturn however need to be seen right at sunset. Mars is straddled between the horns of Taurus the Bull and Saturn looks like it is making the Gemini twins into triplets. For both planets look toward the south and southwest. The pretty waxing crescent moon will be growing into first quarter by mid week and then gibbous as it heads toward full phase on the 13th.

Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view!