Enticing Sky

When November rolls around I find my pulse quickening, as I gaze at the night sky. I’m anticipating the return of those glorious dark-sky winter nights, when the stars stand out ever so prominently. While the summer sky is beautiful to behold—I can stare deeply into it, the Milky Way dazzling in its brilliance, with the warm air caressing my skin and inviting me to tarry a while—it’s the winter sky that really excites me.

I think there are several reasons why. To begin with, the trees have shed their leaves, opening up a much more expansive overhead dome. While in the summertime I watch just a part of the sky peek between trees, now the whole celestial dome is open for viewing. The bare tree branches etch and frame the display with fascinating foreground patterns.

Secondly, the fall/winter sky is cold and clear. Too often in summer the sky is hazy or the day’s heat is being radiated back into space, causing the stars to twinkle and dance, so that nothing holds firm. But in winter the sky is crystal clean. The stars stand boldly and steadily out—almost audibly announcing their presence.

Thirdly, the winter night steals in much sooner in the evening and it dawdles much longer the next morning. In the summer I must wait until 10 PM to see a really dark sky. That’s too late for country living, when I want to be up and out by 6 AM in order to beat the day’s heat. A dark November and December sky abruptly descends upon you by 7 PM—early enough to invite you to linger under the glow of the stars before bedtime, if you bundle up a bit.

Lastly, winter brings those spectacular constellations and star clusters: the Pleiades, Hyades, and Orion. There are no stellar sights during the year that can match their winter displays. OK, I admit to being biased: the winter sky brings back my familiar friends who welcome me into their domain. Summer may have its Ophiuchus, Draco, Cygnus, and Bootes. (They’re not exactly household names.) I think they are pretty neat, but nothing beats Orion. Nothing beats Orion.