Enjoyment of the Night Sky

 

I have been pleasantly surprised by ‘proper’ dark evenings and nights. So many of the places I have lived had city lights or Street lights close enough to tone down the crispness of a starry, starry sky. Here I enjoy the last evening time that I let our dog out into the garden. If dry and clear, I step onto the patio and admire the night sky. Slowly I will relearn the location and names of the main constellations. For now I can look straight up and spot the W of Cassiopeia. It is November, so I must wait for Orion the Hunter and his two Dog stars to come fully into view. I have to say that I lack the imagination of the old stargazers who found star patterns 6that depicted animals, insects and all sorts of shapes.

In contrast, I called walk our dog early in the morning and watch the sun lift over the A 4050, sometimes shining straight in my eyes as if the surface of the road is an artificial horizon. Sometimes an orange or pink hue suffuses the sky before the sun breaks the spell. Sometimes the light is a broad swathe of grey through an early mist. This morning the sun set of sparklers on the frosted grass.

And later, in early December, on the coldest morning to date, the sky was incredibly clear. Before our walk, the dark allowed the stars to sparkle and the ‘plough’ to point it’s way to the north star. Shortly after, during our walk, Alfie and I were treated to an ice blue sky where four planes criss crossed the firmament with vapour trails the colour of Clogau Gold.

AyJay

>