When summer is over and fall starts getting cold and sunset is at 4:45, Susane tends to be grumbly. Everyone knows this. But being a positive person (or at least struggling to be positive in pitch afternoon darkness while wrapping three scarves around my head to go down the block to the deli) means that I always look for the positive aspect of a negative situation.
There are good things about this time of year. Like Orion coming back into prominent viewing.
Back in high school when I sketched the moon and anything else I could see with my little telescope, Orion was a winter fave. The upper left star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant. The lower right star is Rigel, a blue supergiant. Those two stars are so bright that you can see the tinges of red and blue just by observing Orion with the naked eye. Try it and see!
When I saw those red and blue stars through my kitchen window last night, it was like reuniting with old friends.
red and blue old friends
orion in my window
wistful reunion
You got me, fall. You’re not all SAD and despair over shorter daylight time. You shine brightly in your own special way. (But this does not mean I’m forking over five bucks for a pumpkin spice latte anytime soon). Here in New York, we don’t get to see a lot of stars. Light pollution creates a high albedo effect that makes observing incoming starlight pretty difficult. Humidity also interferes, which tends to be higher in warmer temperatures. So yay for cooler nights. Yay for sharper skies. Yay for…I mean, kind of yay for fall. (And no, I would not ask for extra whip and caramel sauce on that pumpkin space latte I have no interest in). Shine on.
Susane Colasanti - Blog 