Perks of Retirement (and a little Astronomy)

Last night was the peak night for the Orionids meteor shower. The early clouds cleared as I dozed on the deck futon. Although the full moon was not ideal for meteor watching, I managed to see several from around 2-3AM. I went in to watch a little TV with Chris and then gave it one more look a little after 4AM.
It's pretty amazing (and a bit terrifying) that the meteor shower is caused by the earth's orbit intersecting with the orbit of Halley's Comet and the debris it loses as it passes close to the sun. The Orionids shower is one of two annual showers caused by intersecting Halley's Comet's orbit. Halley's Comet won't make another pass near the sun until I'm 100 years old, should I live that long.

The full moon was bright and casting moon shadows. (Are you singing, "I'm being followed by a moon shadow?") While a full moon is beautiful to see, it does over power much of the night sky. The early morning fall sky will be the early evening winter sky and it is a beautiful starry sky. It was nice to be able to observe it when it wasn't freezing cold.

Even when I was working, I would often spend a few moments watching for meteors in the middle of the night. The simple complexities (see what I did there?) of the solar system and our universe are worth sacrificing a little sleep. I'm a little sad for people that never take the time to watch a lunar eclipse, a seasonal meteor shower, or just to know the differences in the night skies from one season to the next.

Pretty much everyone knows their sun sign--mine is Gemini. 
Can you find your sign's constellation in the night sky?

The sun is in Gemini--or more correctly, Gemini is behind the sun from around mid-May to mid-June. You can't see your sun sign on or near your birthday. But six months later, your sign will be rising in the east as the sun sets in the west. Astronomically speaking, it will be in opposition. Right now you can still see Scorpio in the western sky at sunset (the reddish star near Venus is Antares, the heart of the scorpion) and Taurus is rising in the east. The rest of the zodiac constellations follow along the equatorial path that the sun travels along throughout the year.
The Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, are the two bright stars above and slightly east of the constellation Orion. Trace a line using the three stars of Orion's belt continuing up and to the west to a bright red star. That is the red giant Aldebaran and is the red eye of Taurus the bull. Just west of Aldebaran is the small cluster of stars known as The Pleiades. You might recognize them by the shape of the logo that bears their Japanese name--Subaru. 

I enjoyed observing the night sky and reacquainting myself with my old starry friends. I can't say that I'm looking forward to the colder temperatures that their appearance brings. The summer constellations like the Scorpion are bidding us farewell, and the fall/winter constellations are making their annual entrance.
It is the way of the universe--both simple and complex--and it is beautiful.

John