Crunchy Night

I stepped off of our back patio and onto the crunchy grass and looked up. There, in all of his glory, was Orion the Hunter. His sword dangled from his belt and glowed with the light from M42, the Orion Nebula. It was easily visible through my binoculars. It was 9:45 at night and the temperature was 17. The sky was glorious, even staggering. Mars was glowing rust red and rising in the East. The Pleiades or Seven Sisters was straight overhead forming a patch of blue diamonds. Again, from the East, came Castor and Pollux, the twins. Through the binoculars I swept through the constellation Auriga, the charioteer, and saw in the midst of it three smudges of light: M38, M36, and M37, three open clusters of stars. Taurus the Bull preceded Orion in the march across the sky and is marked by the amazing reddish star Aldebaran. It is 44 times larger than our sun. Near Cassiopeia, the constellation that looks like a large elongated "W" is one of my favorites - the Double Cluster. I can just make out their glow with my naked eye. They were very pretty through the binoculars. They are stunning through a telescope.

This whole tour took me thirty minutes. It cost me next to nothing. The binoculars were purchased for less than $60.00. I think everyone should own a pair of binoculars. But, you don't need binoculars to drink in the amazing glory that passes overhead night afer night. All it takes is a little time and no clouds. Don't miss it.