Orion in a starry sky

It didn’t rain today.

And just as I thought that I was getting a break from watering the garden! The sky was clear with no sign of cloud cover. I looked up and there was Orion, the Hunter. The three stars of the Orion’s belt can be clearly seen. It’s the most recognizable constellation in the sky.

I remember looking at the desert sky over Alice Springs and seeing Orion in the southern hemisphere. Of course the desert sky was much more starry than our Malaysian skies, since there was hardly any cloud over the desert. It was the most spectacular night sky I’d ever seen and has yet to be surpassed.

Tonight’s night sky (click for a bigger picture) looked quite good too:

Orion

23 comments so far

  1. LB March 27, 2007 1:36 am

    I know nothing about stars, except the ones in front of my eyes after I walked into a tree…

  2. Jean-Luc Picard March 27, 2007 2:28 am

    Well taken; everything looks so clear.

  3. simple american March 27, 2007 6:53 am

    I loved the Alaska cruise. At night you could see a lot of stars. I gotta do that again. :)

    And then there is always West Texas for clear skies. A little closer for me than Alaska.

  4. liling March 27, 2007 9:25 am

    You are right, most visible andb the only constellation I know. The orion’s belt.

  5. Annie March 27, 2007 9:41 am

    Orion is one my favorites too. One time in an old apartment, I got a LOT of glow-in-the-dark star stickers and used the map and created a starry sky in my bedroom with all the stars. I even put some on the side of the walls. Big dipper, little dipper and others I forget names now. fun.

  6. eve March 27, 2007 9:56 am

    I remembered the last time i got time n mood to observe the stars was when i was in Uni…tat was like..wat..more than 10 yrs ago…haihs..now i m seeing another type of stars..

  7. yenjai.net March 27, 2007 12:28 pm

    Haha. I am like LB. Knows nothing about stars

  8. mott March 27, 2007 2:16 pm

    wow..this is amazingly clear. On a regular digital cam???

    wow…. amazing!

  9. Bernard March 27, 2007 2:59 pm

    LB, LOL… *ahem* ok.. kesiannn…

    Capt Picard, gives you wanderlust?

    SA, I’m sure the desert sky over Texas must be reallllllyyy clear.

    Liling, it’s on the celestial equator.. visible from both the northern and southern equator.

    Annie, wowww… you were a fan of antronomy back then, weren’t you?

    Eve, were you star-struck” then?

    Yenjai, but i see a lot of “stars” on your blog :-)

    mott, yup, nice eh? *ahemm* hehe..my Canon A95… 15 second shutter time. Bracing myself against the wall.

  10. jonzz March 27, 2007 4:03 pm

    Hmm… starry sky shots. And I was just wondering about this yesterday. Coincidences, coincidences…

  11. Chelsea March 27, 2007 4:25 pm

    I don’t know about stars too….but I’m impressed by your digicam that can take pictures of stars…mine can’t…or it’s me that don’t know how to operate….=(((

  12. may March 27, 2007 8:32 pm

    I see Orion’s Belt very clearly here in Sydney too, on cloudless nights. I used to love searching and identifying all the constellations, until I stopped doing that one day and now I only know these 3 prominent stars by heart. the rest, I’ve forgotten… but maybe someday I’ll spot them once again.

  13. LM March 27, 2007 9:05 pm

    Nothing can be seen here on the little red dot. We are perpetually clouded, no cloud covered.

    Northern malaysia should have clearer skies than most places on the peninsula.

    I also had a chance to view a beautiful black canvas of glittering stars on the distant islands of the east coast of Peninsula malaysia. Heavenly! makes you marvel at the wonders of God’s work.

  14. may March 27, 2007 10:03 pm

    oh, and a star up in the sky said TAG, you’re it!.. *grin*

  15. Bernard March 28, 2007 12:42 am

    jonzz, ooo.. a penny for your thoughts? what were you wondering…. about the starry sky or taking photographs of starry sky?

    Chelsea, the slowest shutter speed on your T10 is 1 second. That’s too short.

    May, hehe.. those 3 are the only stars that I can identify.

    From wikipedia (the link is up there):

    “? Ori (Alnitak), ? Ori (Alnilam) and ? Ori (Mintaka) make up the asterism known as Orion’s Belt.”

    and… tagged!! ok.. eenie meenie mynie moe…

    LM, hahaha.. clouded might desctibe some people accurately, yes.

    … it would be lovely to just sit and watch the sky? feel the breeze and listen to the waves lapping the beach…

    … talking about sites where I enjoyed star-gazing… i’d include Pangkor and Tanjung Batu Beach in Bintulu.

  16. simple american March 28, 2007 5:57 am

    I got a tag for you. Will complete my tag from you in my tomorrow.

  17. jonzz March 28, 2007 9:16 am

    Taking photos. LOL!

  18. Chelsea March 28, 2007 10:49 am

    Yeah man…that’s what I thought too…shutter speed problem…meaning I can’t take photo of skies or moon at night!!!…haiyooo…

    Tanjung Batu Beach???…that’s my beach eh…now not that starry anymore…coz of environment changed…hazzy skies…=((

  19. velverse March 28, 2007 3:25 pm

    wah you really know how to look at stars?

  20. hoiling March 29, 2007 12:43 am

    Nice view. By looking at it long enough, it can have de-stress effect. Never fail to make you feel so small as compared to the whole universe. Wow! hehe :)

  21. Bernard March 29, 2007 1:26 am

    SA, done!

    jonzz, I was watering my garden when I looked up and saw this beautiful sky… i stopped and took my camera out and took the photos.

    Chelsea, that’s sad.

    velverse, i know how to admire their majestic beauty :-)

    hoiling, you are welcome to come by and de-stress anytime :-)…. we have a small but unique place in the universe. Each one. :-)

  22. Kathy March 29, 2007 6:43 pm

    I see Orion’s belt very clearly here in Volgograd almost every night too. We have very starry skies… reminds me of the song. starry starry night… lalala… :D

  23. Bernard March 30, 2007 1:34 pm

    Kat, it’s nice to know that we gaze at the same stars halfway across the globe. :-)

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