[Leica] Winter Solstice/Orion

[r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor)]

Have not been able to do much with the LUG lately due to work demands 
and getting ready for the Christmas holiday,  but I have a solstice 
offering for you.

The constellation Orion stands tall in the southern evening sky this 
time of year and is easily seen on any clear night.  For those of you 
to not used to looking at the night sky, Orion is the distorted 
rectangle of stars between the cloud masses in the first picture, 
with three stars in a row right in the middle of the group.  These 
two pictures were both taken just west of Boston.  The first was 
taken at about 9 PM; the second around midnight.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/BOSTON/L1020077_web_sm

Orion moves across the sky and rotates as the night wears on.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/BOSTON/L1020037_web_sm

The upper left hand star in the group is Betelgeuse, a name familiar 
to many movie goers.  Though not part of the constellation, the 
bright star just above the horizon and in line with the three middle 
stars in the first picture is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.

With some imagination it's possible to make out the figure of a 
hunter in Orion though not all the stars necessary to the figure are 
visible in these pictures.  The three stars in the middle of the 
group form the hunter's belt.  Betelgeuse is his left shoulder. 
Rigel, the lower right star in the second picture, is his left foot. 
His right arm is upraised and he holds a sword away from his body and 
vertical in his left hand.  His left arm and sword can just barely be 
seen in the second photo.

The complete figure can be seen here:

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Orion.html

Look for it in the southeast part of the sky about 30 degrees above 
the horizon around 9 PM.

As a bonus, being out at night to take sky photos sometimes offers 
other pleasures, despite the inevitable frigid fingers and cold feet 
that go along with work.  This is moonlight on the Concord River at 
midnight:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/BOSTON/L1020050_web_sm

All taken with a Digilux 2 at ISO 100, f2.0 @ 8s, "24mm" focal length.

Enjoy.  Comments welcome as always.

My very best wishes for a Merry, Merry Christmas to all those on the 
LUG who celebrate the holiday and Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 
to all.

-- 
Regards,

Dick
Boston MA