Under the Milky Way Tonight

An avid huntsman with his dazzling belt, his club in triumphant air above his head, his shield buffering an attack from Taurus, Orion had been blinded, healed by Helios, and struck by Scorpius (or slain by Artemis, depending on which myth you read), leading to his death--his spirit being cast into stars. Now a trifecta of stars stud his belt and his dog, Sirius, loyally traverses the sky at his heel.

Late Friday night, Brian and I secreted away from the pollutant lights of Altoona to the dark skies of the Pennsylvania State Game Lands 33 in Bald Eagle. We pulled over to the side of Route 350 and walked along a snowmobile trail, the Milky Way faintly revealing itself to our backs, Orion's belt peeking over the canopied horizon, one belt stud at a time. Donning dim head lamps, we set up our cameras for the grand show, testing their exposure times, adjusting their ISO, and helping each other determine if an image was focused or not (my downfall). As our eyes were focused on fiddling and dilly-dallying with technology, we didn't forget to take a moment to breathe and raise our eyes to the dark sky.

We were prepared to see the Orionid Meteor Shower. Although it isn't the most grand of meteor showers, it is still a thrilling sight, promising at least twenty meteors per hour on a clear night. And it was indeed a clear night, the moon nowhere in sight.

Just stars.

And airplanes and satellites and oops, our headlamps once in a while. Oh, and power lines.

The meteor shower is named for Orion because it is near that constellation that they appear to resonate. But do not let that fool you; meteors slit the sky well beyond Orion and his little pooch, Sirius. There are a few ways to find Orion. The most popular is to find the three close-knit stars that are his belt. However, Orion has another trifecta of stars (not as close in approximation as in his belt) in the shield he carries. Also, Orion has a large red giant star, Betelgeuse, at his arm pit.

Every year, our earth dashes into these meteors which are simply detritus from Halley's Comet. Halley's Comet enters earth's vicinity every 75 years or so. And that is how old I will be when I see it in 44 years. I wonder what kind of camera I'll have then. Or eye sight, even.

Brian and I brought with us a bottle of bubbly because when marveling at stars, you must taste the stars, right? We passed the bottle back and forth, our shop-talk punctuated with exclamations of Oh, look! and Sweet Baby Jesus! when a streak of light crossed the sky, especially if it left a trail in its wake. With it being our first conscious efforts to view and photograph meteors, we set our satisfaction limits. I'll be happy if I see just one meteor, I said, not caring whether or not I'd capture one with my camera. I was the giddy girlfriend, just happy to be under the stars with her boyfriend, playing with her camera, and taking everything in. Brian was interested in seeing as many meteors as he can on top of capturing star trails with his camera. Well, we were both satisfied. I saw 13 meteors, captured one with my camera, and photographed Orion's movement up the sky. Brian saw 22 meteors and took his first photograph (below) of star trails, a ten-minute exposure that shows the rotation of the earth (giving the illusion that the stars are moving).

And right of the center, you see my little meteor, Peter.

The hours flew by. Throughout those midnight hours, I repeated The Church lyrics under my breath.

And it's something quite peculiar

Something shimmering and white

Leads you here, despite your destination Under the Milky Way tonight.

The Orionids aren't the only meteors you'll see this year. There's still some amazement left before the year ends (near the year's end!). The Geminid Meteor Shower will be even more spectacular in early December, promising ~100 meteors/hour on a clear, dark night (on the peak night, which is a Wednesday). The Ursid Meteor Shower will happen shortly before Christmas Eve. Don't forget to buy some bubbly. Oh, and stay warm. And amazed.

#astronomy #personal #essay