Happy February star friends; check out the Crab Nebula (M1) above!
On Tuesday evening, I chose to pull out with my 8" Dobsonian telescope, and figured I would take a bit of time to take a peek at the Orion Nebula, and try my luck with other cataloged Messier objects in the winter night sky. After pulling the telescope out to the driveway, setting up all my eyepieces and gear, and training my laser scope on the winter night sky, I was able to find two nebula. I successfully found the Crab Nebula near Taurus' left horn tip. Imagine, I am looking at the nebulous gases left over from a supernova that occurred in 1054 A.D! Although it may just appear in the telescope as a blob, the mind-blowing idea that this gas used to be a star close to 950 years ago was staggering.
I also took a nice look at the Orion nebula, and enjoyed the greenish ectoplasm that showed up in the view; actually, it was one of the clearest looks at the Orion nebula I have had. I finished my stargazing outing with a view of the crescent moon, and have started to learn the craters of the moon. I believe in March we could start to learn some of the bigger craters of the Moon together, sound good?
So, in light of Valentine's Day this weekend, and family company coming to visit for about close to two weeks, I may be a little less expansive on my offerings each week. This week I thought it would be nice to take a look at the symbolism and stories that those wondrous balls of gas in the night sky have inspired in regards to love, legend, and destiny.
Well, of course, most of us have heard the famous Walt Disney song "When you wish upon a star..." or the childhood rhyme: "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..." or even when you have caught a shooting star, have you wondered how it was that stars were given such wonderful wishing qualities? What is it with the fascination of gazing up above us and calling out for our heartfelt desires? Something about the expansive cosmos above us beckons us further to explore what is truly larger than us, and in ancient civilizations, this awe and wonder equated to the idea that something truly higher than humankind was above looking over the Earth, and perhaps is listening to our calls for help and support.
The universe above also seemed to take on the quality of being a harbinger of natural disasters, and most eclipses (Solar and Lunar) and meteor shower events were seen as large signs of impending doom or change, and taken very seriously. The awe and fear of the unknown power of the universe and natural world around those ancient civilizations is certainly respectable. It is also interesting to notice that a star was the sign of the coming of Jesus Christ, and challenged the idea that signs from the universe above were all dangerous with the coming of a divine gift and love that truly was a blessing to humankind.
Stars have also been guides to way fared sailors, sailing in the full darkness of the wide open sea, and to the three wise men looking for the Christ child and a higher knowledge and truth. Imagine the courage it took to travel through darkness, with only a night sky full of stars to keep the sailors and their ships on course; this never ceases to amaze me.Stars truly have also picked up an enigma of wisdom and spirituality about them, and are known as guideposts for cosmic fate and destiny. For instance, Shakespeare was well-known for writing in astrology and star symbolism into his great plays, especially his tragedies and most noticeably Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare calls the couple "star-crossed lovers" and makes alliteration to the Moon, Sun, and stars quite often. The literary imagery of love being linked to stars is perhaps because of the furiousness of the fiery and burning gases and bright twinkle of star above. John Keats "Bright Star" is a nice example of how a star's birth, death, and fusion of gases can create a beautiful prose.
Lastly, where else do we come across stars? Well, as symbols in flags and as badges and pins that conceptualize accomplishment and status. Gold stars reward commitment, discipline, and hard work. The American flag and the American military use stars to denote rank and commitment. A gold star can be the finishing achievement for a grade school student's superbly done theme paper, as much so as a twinkling star can be a beautiful set of eyes "a twinkle in the eye" or a diamond that twinkles like a star in an engagement or wedding ring.
Russ
On Tuesday evening, I chose to pull out with my 8" Dobsonian telescope, and figured I would take a bit of time to take a peek at the Orion Nebula, and try my luck with other cataloged Messier objects in the winter night sky. After pulling the telescope out to the driveway, setting up all my eyepieces and gear, and training my laser scope on the winter night sky, I was able to find two nebula. I successfully found the Crab Nebula near Taurus' left horn tip. Imagine, I am looking at the nebulous gases left over from a supernova that occurred in 1054 A.D! Although it may just appear in the telescope as a blob, the mind-blowing idea that this gas used to be a star close to 950 years ago was staggering.
I also took a nice look at the Orion nebula, and enjoyed the greenish ectoplasm that showed up in the view; actually, it was one of the clearest looks at the Orion nebula I have had. I finished my stargazing outing with a view of the crescent moon, and have started to learn the craters of the moon. I believe in March we could start to learn some of the bigger craters of the Moon together, sound good?
So, in light of Valentine's Day this weekend, and family company coming to visit for about close to two weeks, I may be a little less expansive on my offerings each week. This week I thought it would be nice to take a look at the symbolism and stories that those wondrous balls of gas in the night sky have inspired in regards to love, legend, and destiny.
Well, of course, most of us have heard the famous Walt Disney song "When you wish upon a star..." or the childhood rhyme: "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..." or even when you have caught a shooting star, have you wondered how it was that stars were given such wonderful wishing qualities? What is it with the fascination of gazing up above us and calling out for our heartfelt desires? Something about the expansive cosmos above us beckons us further to explore what is truly larger than us, and in ancient civilizations, this awe and wonder equated to the idea that something truly higher than humankind was above looking over the Earth, and perhaps is listening to our calls for help and support.
The universe above also seemed to take on the quality of being a harbinger of natural disasters, and most eclipses (Solar and Lunar) and meteor shower events were seen as large signs of impending doom or change, and taken very seriously. The awe and fear of the unknown power of the universe and natural world around those ancient civilizations is certainly respectable. It is also interesting to notice that a star was the sign of the coming of Jesus Christ, and challenged the idea that signs from the universe above were all dangerous with the coming of a divine gift and love that truly was a blessing to humankind.
Stars have also been guides to way fared sailors, sailing in the full darkness of the wide open sea, and to the three wise men looking for the Christ child and a higher knowledge and truth. Imagine the courage it took to travel through darkness, with only a night sky full of stars to keep the sailors and their ships on course; this never ceases to amaze me.Stars truly have also picked up an enigma of wisdom and spirituality about them, and are known as guideposts for cosmic fate and destiny. For instance, Shakespeare was well-known for writing in astrology and star symbolism into his great plays, especially his tragedies and most noticeably Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare calls the couple "star-crossed lovers" and makes alliteration to the Moon, Sun, and stars quite often. The literary imagery of love being linked to stars is perhaps because of the furiousness of the fiery and burning gases and bright twinkle of star above. John Keats "Bright Star" is a nice example of how a star's birth, death, and fusion of gases can create a beautiful prose.
Lastly, where else do we come across stars? Well, as symbols in flags and as badges and pins that conceptualize accomplishment and status. Gold stars reward commitment, discipline, and hard work. The American flag and the American military use stars to denote rank and commitment. A gold star can be the finishing achievement for a grade school student's superbly done theme paper, as much so as a twinkling star can be a beautiful set of eyes "a twinkle in the eye" or a diamond that twinkles like a star in an engagement or wedding ring.
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Take care until next time,
Russ
I really loved this one. I am really looking forward to learning about the craters with everyone. I know only the famous ones, but I don't know where they are located. Please keep on with this. I am probably speaking for everyone else in saying that I appreciate this little break from the drudgery that we can get caught in and share the full expanse of the universe together through your words. From all of us... Thank you.
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