I've always thought of Orion coming up out of the bushes for a clear shot, and then dropping back into the foliage. He's certainly my clock when I'm out at night.
I remember one time in Iraq, walking out well after dark and seeing Orion coming up. I pointed it out to the guys I was with, who were all city boys who grew up not seeing much of the stars. So when I told them "If you look to the south, you'll see Orion," they needed me first to describe what they were looking for -- the belt is the obvious first thing to direct them to -- and then wanted to know how I knew the direction I was pointing them to was south.
"Well," I told them, "because that's where Orion is."
I've always thought of Orion coming up out of the bushes for a clear shot, and then dropping back into the foliage. He's certainly my clock when I'm out at night.
ReplyDeleteInteresting piece.
I remember one time in Iraq, walking out well after dark and seeing Orion coming up. I pointed it out to the guys I was with, who were all city boys who grew up not seeing much of the stars. So when I told them "If you look to the south, you'll see Orion," they needed me first to describe what they were looking for -- the belt is the obvious first thing to direct them to -- and then wanted to know how I knew the direction I was pointing them to was south.
ReplyDelete"Well," I told them, "because that's where Orion is."
The only thing I learned from 8th grade science was the location of Orion. Southeast part of the sky. I assume I already knew about the dippers.
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