Catalina

I’m not much of a constellation guy, but I walk outside on a starry night and immediately locate the big dipper and the north star; confirm my sense of direction. This far south, this time of year, there is no big dipper. There is a north star, but the big dip is below the horizon in the evening. It won’t rise into view until much later at night; long after I’m asleep. Winter is a good time to spot Orion rising in the east in the evening, but it’s not the same, not having the big dipper there.

The meteor shower changed all that; the meteor shower and the motorhome. Because of the meteor shower, I’m more aware of the sky when I wake up at night. Because of the motorhome, the rental motorhome, I can look right out the window that’s at the head of our bed. (Miss that window to look out at night. Don’t miss the cold air falling on my head, but miss the immediacy of the untinted window right there.) Four am. I wake up, look out to check for meteors, and there is the big dipper, shining in the night sky, circling its way around the north star, just like it should be. All is well.