Dancing with the Stars!

Tonight, the temperature is a balmy 16 degrees, very pleasant for the last day of September. Not only was it warm, but the skies were clear. The night called to me, and I borrowed a pair of binoculars, called on a friend, and we went out stargazing once again.

Armed with the latest edition of Sky News, the Canadian backyard astronomy magazine, a small flashlight, a drawing of the Ursa major constellation, of which the Big Dipper, well-known to many, is only a part, we set out at about 10 p.m.

We were well-rewarded. The wide-sky country of this area does not disappoint. Constellations (and asterisms!) that had eluded me at other times jumped out like diamonds on black velvet: Auriga, lying close to the northeastern horizon; Draco, the dragon, twisting its way between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper; Ursa Major; Pegasus, with its great square high in the southern sky; Aquila, the eagle; Delphinus, the dolphin, and, of course, the others that are already our friends—Cassiopeia, the Big Dipper, Polaris, the Summer Triangle, the Pleiades, and Cygnus, for example.

And yes, the Coat Hanger! I knew where it should be, and by scanning the area with the binoculars for several minutes, I found it! It’s formal name is Brocchi’s Cluster, but, really, it does look like a coat hanger.

Appreciating the natural world around us doesn’t have to be expensive, even though the ads in the magazines would convince us otherwise. There is so much to see even with the unaided eye. One thing that does make it more enjoyable: a friend to share it with.