News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
On a clear winter evening in January, look to the southeastern sky to behold the brightest, most recognizable constellation in the entire sky. Orion the Hunter straddles the celestial equator, making it visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Hunter's shape is easy to identify because of the arrangement of its brightest stars. His belt is marked by three equally spaced stars of about the same magnitude that lie in a nearly straight line. It is tilted at an angle to his body due to the weight of a sword that hangs from the right side of his belt.
The constellation's form is further enhanced by its two brightest stars. Rigel, a blue supergiant star, is the most luminous of these and represents Orion's left foot. Only slightly dimmer is the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, which denotes his right shoulder.
Besides the myriad of beautiful stars that populate this constellation, there are other fascinating objects to see here as well. Chief among these is the famous Great Orion Nebula. Also known as M42, this bright diffuse nebula is probably the most storied and observed deep-sky object in the sky. Located just 1,500 light-years away, it is a hotbed of ongoing star formation and can be seen by the naked eye. Look for a fuzzy star-like patch of light in Orion's sword. Other very fine objects found in Orion include De Mairan's Nebula, the Flame Nebula, Monkey Head Nebula, and the Dark Horsehead Nebula.
There are quite a few myths related to Orion. In several of them, he is known as the son of Poseidon. In one of the most bizarre of these stories it is said that he was born of the earth, from a bull hide urinated on by three gods. Nonetheless, he's known to be associated with Chios, the island he rid of all beasts, and where he fell in love with the daughter of King Oenopion, Merope. One night Orion tried to force himself on her. This enraged the king, who put out Orion's eyes and banished him from Chios. Later Orion's sight was restored by the rising sun. There are many endings to the Hunter's story, ranging from being executed by Artemis' hand after he tried to rape her, to succumbing to the sting of a scorpion.
Four of the five visible planets are evening objects this month. Venus, shining incredibly brightly at about -4.5 magnitude, and Saturn will reside in the southwestern sky at nightfall. On January 17 the two planets come into conjunction and will be separated by just 2.2 degrees of arc. Brilliant Jupiter, currently in Taurus, will ride high in the southern sky. But the highlight of the evening parade of planets will be Mars as it reaches opposition on January 15. At that time the Red Planet will be visible all night, emitting a vivid orange hue. Only Mercury occupies the morning sky, best viewed early in the month just before sunrise.
The Quadrantids meteor shower, which runs annually from January 1-5, peaked on the evening of January 3 and early morning of January 4. Up to 40 meteors per hour were expected to shoot across the sky. A waxing crescent moon set early on the evening of the third, ensuring dark skies during the event. The shooting stars radiate from the constellation of Bootes. To ensure that these meteors, as well as every other aspect of our beautiful night sky, will continue to be visible here in Sisters, please turn all outdoor lights off when you are not using them; ideally by 10 p.m. at the latest. The early hour at which the sun sets allows for countless astronomical opportunities, but many of these celestial wonders won't be visible if lights are on. So, douse those lights and get out there to enjoy the view!
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