August 26

Off to the eastern horizon, Orion is now visible in the hour before dawn. This morning was unusually cool again and clear, making all the stars contrast well against the sky that hinted at morning.

Orion hasn’t been a familiar since last February, when we’d watch its departure against the evening sky.

Just above and to the left of the shoulder star Betelgeuse sits Jupiter, clearly the most prominent object in the heavens apart from the waning gibbous moon that is nearly overhead. I recall Jupiter sitting over the right shoulder Bellatrix last February, and so its slow revolution around the sun continues. It takes 30 years for Jupiter to complete its orbit, and so in a single year it will travel roughly 12 degrees across the sky. It’s been a little over half a year since February, and Jupiter has moved about the width of four fingers from one shoulder of Orion to the other, perhaps 7 degrees or so. This seems right.

The last time Jupiter visited Orion was 1983, after which it made its slow progression through the zodiac, year-by-year, until coming full circle, of sorts. I am enjoying this now, for I won’t likely be alive when it crosses Orion again next.

Notes:

First woolly bear caterpillar.