So let’s discuss the constellation Orion this month. What are your memories, thoughts and experiences with one of the most recognized constellation in the sky (except maybe for the Pleiades), I now know the Pleiades are not a constellation they are part of Taurus. The area of sky surrounding Orion is very rich in bright stars and constellations with Taurus, Gemini, Canis Major and Minor, Auriga all with bright stars that make up much of their forms in the sky, and let’s not forget the planet Mars currently sitting between Gemini and Cancer a bright reddish star almost directly overhead early in the evening.
The sketch above was drawn on Saturday, February 13th at GNTO using my new 16" telescope (thank you Carl and Karen) and a 25mm eyepiece. It turned out to be a fairly spectacular evening for viewing, there was a slight breeze when I arrived about an hour before sunset but by the time it was dark enough to start observing there was virtually no wind whatsoever and the sky was very steady even the brighter stars were not twinkling. The "Great Orion Nebula" was absolutely beautiful, one of the best views I think I have ever seen of it. We also looked at the "Horse head Nebula" near the belt of Orion, a couple of people said that they could make out the Horse head but when I looked I could make out the darker region but could not distinguish any shape in the nebula.
The sketch of the Orion nebula above was the only one I made that evening but it was by no means the only thing I observed, just after sunset with the help of Steve I was able to see Venus and Jupiter, just above the horizon (I actually watched Jupiter set), I looked for some time at Mars and could make out some darker regions but no real detail of any kind. I looked at several galaxies and some open clusters that were all very nice to view and thank you to Carl for doing most of the driving that evening as he showed me how to set up the scope.
I hope to have many more nights like this one through the year and look forward to lots of observing with my new 16" telescope.
Photo by Shane Ramotowski
www.kor-astro.net
