Spring sky

Every time I watch the sky after a few weeks break the confusion is massive. ‘Why is it all messed up, why is everyone out of place?’ But since I’m more familiar with autumn sky it’s good for me to get to know spring views a little better. Especially Leo, Virgo and Gemini were really easy to spot and even though Orion is slowly going back to horizon it could still be seen in the evening. Jupiter happened to be very close to the Moon a while ago so it was easy to find – I’m slowly getting better with stars, constellations, clusters, nebulae etc., but I still suck at recognizing planets.

Here are some pictures – sorry for the quality: most of these I took lying on the bonnet of my car trying not to breathe since I don’t have a tripod.

Boötes; Corona Borealis; Serpens Caput (not completely sure about the last one, though)

Leo; Jupiter

Virgo; probably a part of the Crow on the right side of Spica

Canis Minor; Gemini; Auriga; Hyades star cluster

Diamonds of frost and sun

–27 in the morning and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t even feel sorry for my feet or fingers. Let it be cold.

Spring term begins on Monday and I’m terrified. Again.

There isn’t much more to say right now; northern weather and panic about studying as always. Clearly I’m such a multidimensional person. In literary studies they talk about flat and round, static and dynamic characters. That classification is also useful when talking about real life people, and I can find my place in microseconds – flat and static, someone whose personality is built on simple stereotypes and who never changes no matter how many years pass by.

Nothing new under the sun. (Sun must be considered figuratively here since it cannot be seen at the moment.)

7.1.2016, 07.30

Perseus; Pleiades star cluster

Orion (constellation + nebula M42); Hyades star cluster

Ha! I didn’t panic for nothing! I knew it!

And yet I was kind of hoping for a miracle (the kind of miracle that occurs when everything goes as planned, life is nice and smooth and I don’t constantly find myself messing things up and both causing and experiencing misunderstandings). So, let’s go back to my well-earned, honorable position as both the king and the jester of the mighty and vast realm of chaos, disarray and follies.

(I’d give an explanation for the preceding paragraph if I wasn’t this confused. But it is [mostly] studying-related.)

Anyway, the weekend was nice (for honesty’s sake I probably shouldn’t use the word ‘nice’ since I attended my grandmother’s funeral but that’s not the point here). To be more precise, the night between Saturday and Sunday was nice – or great, in fact. I couldn’t sleep so I went outside (due to the funeral I was on the countryside over the weekend) and enjoyed the magical-looking sky. It was rather cold and the fields were all covered in fog. Earlier I had borrowed an SLR-camera from my uncle and now tried to take pictures of the sky (fair warning: I’m not really a good photographer and I haven’t been using SLRs much before). At least some of the pictures were rather nice.

Such a fair autumn, both days and nights.

Cassiopeia; Andromeda (constellation + galaxy); Pegasus

The Pleiades (a crappy picture but still)

Delphinus

Far away next door

I couldn’t love this time of year more.

Autumn is simply perfect. I love the cool, misty mornings, the bright yet darkening nights and wonderful smelling forests. This time is and has always been very meaningful to me. I remember reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time as a myth-obsessed nine-year-old feeling so connected to Frodo and Bilbo – also for them autumn was the time of adventure, travelling and unexpected things. Not that I’d have that kind of excitement and adventure in my life; I just feel I can very well relate to the atmosphere and mood that fills the Shire every autumn.

Something similar I feel when reading Tove Jansson’s Moominvalley in November. In that book autumn nearly seems to be one of the actual characters (a personification of some sort, perhaps), creating such a strong feel of being not only on the threshold of winter but also being very alone, very disconnected and very isolated both from others and from yourself. And yet, hidden deep behind all that loneliness and anxiety the characters feel in the empty and desolate Moominhouse, there is something utterly comforting about the book and the way it presents autumn – a combination created by a true genius in my opinion.

As much as I’d love to keep rambling about books there was something else I was planning to say.

When it comes to my amateur star observing hobby I’d say August and September are probably my favourite months to watch the sky and get my neck sore. It is dark enough but not too cold; the evenings are darkening slowly so that it is easy to see and recognize the brightest stars that appear first; the ground isn’t yet white and bright with snow. I’ve spent several evenings with my poor man’s backyard astronomy which basically means I’m either sitting or walking outside with binoculars around midnight, trying to recognize stars, constellations, galaxies and star clusters. There isn’t much I know yet; at the moment there are 24 objects I recognize (some of them only partially, though – for instance Hercules is for some mysterious reason lacking his left leg, poor guy). That is to say, there is very little I recognize and even less that I understand about the things I see.

Arcturus. It's a bit dim but perhaps you can see it.

About two weeks ago I finally managed to see Andromeda galaxy. I know it’s actually very easy to find but this far I’ve only been spotting constellations and clusters. Looking at that small, foggy yet bright thing felt unbelievable. Theoretically it is next door but from the very limited perspective of a simple human child it’s incomprehensibly far. My understanding simply doesn’t extend to that kind of distances. Seeing something like that is one of those moments when you stop thinking and keep looking – and when you manage to tear your eyes away you’ve gained a bit more perspective, a bit more understanding, a bit more unity.

They're back!

Oh yes, they are - finally. The stars. A few nights ago I saw them properly for the first time in months. I guess the nights have been dim enough for some time already but it's been a bit too cloudy for a good stargazing marathon. But there they were again, just the way they've always been. Only Cassiopeia and both Dippers were bright enough for my untrained amateur eyes but I was thrilled to see them after such a long break. The downside is that that sight made me even more reluctant to return to the city in September... Of course it's a nice city, I love the university and so on but I can't turn myself into a city-dweller. I simply can't manipulate myself like that. I can't stand the light pollution, the noise, the traffic jam... And only we Finns refer to it as a city, to all others it would probably be a village (223 238 inhabitants at the moment). I hate that I can't see the stars properly - not that I'd even enjoy wandering in the streets at night.

I got distracted. Well, that happens all the time. (Even in the middle of a conversation. It's embarrassing.)

Anyway. The stars make me feel at home more than anything else. They're so familiar, so beautiful, so friendly. Two nights ago I also saw a shooting star, haven't seen one since winter. Did I make a wish? Of course. Call me stupid if you like. Naturally I don't actually believe it works. Just hope it does.

P.S.  I tried to make a necklace that looks like the night sky, Milky way or something like that. It is in fact quite nice but then I of course dropped it (the phrase 'all thumbs' is a ridiculous understatement in my sad case). It's not completely shattered but unfortunately I can't wear it since the chain-holder-thingy is broken. Damn. Well, I'll try to make a new one now that I'm smart enough to use steel. Or a rock. Or osmium.

Aurorae

You might be wondering whether I’m aware that there is nothing in these pictures. Don’t worry. I know they're black.

Should you be one of those who wield endless good will and eyes of an eagle (although I don’t know how well eagles can see colours) you might be able to see a dim, greenish area in these pictures. You don’t? Then my eyes are creating visions to please me. The reason why I’m posting these pathetic ‘photos’ (note the scornful tone) is that we had northern lights here last night. Here comes the great question: why am I in the city the one time aurorae can be seen in southern Finland? Due to massive light pollution the aurorae seemed quite dim but I’m nevertheless thrilled I saw them. I find it curious that I've lived 22 years in Finland, well above 60°0’ N and still haven’t seen northern lights until now.

Even though I like photographing I don’t know much about it. I’d love to be able to photograph stars, northern lights and that kind of things but I lack both the technical and the artistic skills.  I accept my limits but still want to mention a couple of excuses: a) the aurorae were dim because of the unnaturally bright lights in the town and b) these pictures were taken with a cellphone. Forgive me.

Since the pictures are as miserable as they are it might seem weird I’m putting them here in the first place. My absolutely cheesy and sentimental explanation is the following: What really matters isn't what the photos look like but the moment when I took them. As I said last night was the first time I saw aurorae and it felt so surreal that I thought I should have at least something to convince me the next morning that I actually saw them. It felt unbelievable. They were so beautiful and seemed like fleeting veils of light spreading pale emerald shine that alternated between haze and brightness. Seeing them was both strange and familiar; somehow I felt as if I had been looking at them all my life.

Yep. Sparklers. On a lark? Absolutely.

P.S. I was on the countryside the other weekend and spend a lot of time gazing at stars now that I still can – soon enough the nights will be too bright. I think I recognize at least Ursa Minor and Major, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Auriga, Corona Borealis, Boötes, Cepheus, Orion and the Pleiades. The only stars I think I know for sure are Sirius, Arcturus and Spica. I almost wish our summer nights were darker so that I could both see the stars and smell the wonderful scent of summer. (And pretend to be an elf. Laugh if you please.)

Brightness in the North

Northern sky. Can’t get enough of it.

During the past few weeks I've been able to enjoy our Finnish winter the way I love it the most: by looking up to the wonderful, cold and clear night sky. Since I suck majorly at physics and generally all things that have even the slightest connection to mathematics there is very little I actually know about stars and space. However, I enjoy reading about them and happily ignore the fact that 98 % of the text is completely incomprehensible to me. I find especially black holes very fascinating – I've been trying to imagine something cooler than a hole in the time-space continuum but haven’t succeeded so far.

The moon was really bright last week but I was able to see at least Perseus,

Orion, the Pleiades, Auriga, the Great bear and Cassiopeia.

As childish as it is, I love stars because they’re beautiful. I love their cold, slightly bluish light and their silvery brightness, I love the constellations and the stories behind them. I didn't even know until now of catasterismi, a term deriving from Greek mythology and meaning ‘placing among the stars’. According to the belief ancient heroes or other characters were transformed into constellations and sent to the sky after their death. Most of these stories are still unfamiliar to me but I’m eager to find out more about them; since The Iliad is the only Greek mythology related book I've read there’ll be much to learn…

I see the stars and constellations as signs of permanence and continuance – not just because they've been in existence for a time so long I cannot even comprehend but also because they've been beheld, admired, studied and written about throughout all human history. The stars are still up there even though their beholders have changed. That thought is, in a way I can’t fully explain, beautiful but also very encouraging.

Frost makes the stars seem very bright but it is able to work miracles also beneath them:

Diamonds of frost and sun

As much as I enjoy the coldness I'd be a fool to go out without several layers

of wool no matter how stupid it looks. I can't afford freezing my brain.