Eclipsed

I got up this morning after having a semi-rough night with my son, he was up-and-down from about zero-dark-thirty until 0400. I was afraid I was going to wake him up as I got ready for my run at 0430. I stepped outside with my dog and since my house faces west I was able to watch the eclipse enter the totality phase as my dog relieved himself. After he had done his business I started a five miler and kept my eye on the moon until I had to put it at my back to finish my run.

I'm glad we got a clear morning so I could see the eclipse because the last time one was visible, back in 2003 when we lived in St. Louis, Kim and I were out watching it in our apartment complex parking lot with two of our neighbors. We had beer, snacks and binoculars and just as the earth's shadow started creeping across the moon a fricking cloud blew across and obscured the show. It stayed cloudy the rest of the night and we took our beer, snacks and binoculars inside and watched tv instead.

I like astronomy and I know most of the constellations and I can usually locate Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Unfortunately, my telescope was damaged in our exodus to the Springfield area four years ago and I have never replaced it and it puts a damper on the viewing of Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

I like the late fall and winter constellations most of all and I purposely go on runs later in the evening in October and November so that I can look at Orion, Canis Major, Taurus and the Pleiades. Orion is one of the first constellations I knew when I was a kid. It was hard to miss the three stars that made up his belt. From left to right they are named Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. The names of the stars that make up the hourglass shape of Orion's body, starting from the upper left and going clockwise, are Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel and Saiph. If you follow the sword down from his belt you can make out the Orion Nebula as a hazy patch.

If you follow the line of Orion's belt to your left until you see a very bright star that star is Sirius, the Dogstar, and the brightest star in the sky. It is often mistaken for a UFO. Probably by drunk rednecks. . . or people who never look up.

Taurus is slightly north and west of Orion and is distinct because of the V-shape it takes. Aldebaran is the alpha star in Taurus and is the eye of the bull. I love to look at Aldebaran through binocs because it is a very pretty orange color. If you go slightly west of Aldebaran until you see a star formation that looks like the Little Dipper you have actually discovered the Pleiades. The Pleiades are called the Seven Sisters or sometimes the jewelbox. They are an open cluster and look magnificent in binoculars.

Next time you are out in the dark at 0430 look up and see if you can't find these constellations. They won't be in the early night sky until October.