October 2024 is a big astronomical month. Much to see in the night sky, from northern lights, to comets, to massive moons and meteorites.

The sun is going through a temperamental phase, releasing what seems like a steady stream of solar flares. If you can believe it; not up to a few months ago, had I ever seen the Aurora Borealis, at least not that I could recognize living the light polluted sky of a big city. Maybe those wisps were excited atomic elements, or maybe just high clouds.

Since moving up north, that has all changed. It is an embarrassment of cosmically veiled riches. I also recently updated my iPhone, and so I am well-armed to reveal the night sky's iridescent frills and petticoats to you too. Cue the music.

I actually went outside to catch the Draconid meteor shower when I was instead greeted with a light show like no other. The Draconid is so named because a keen eye can catch a shooting star chasing the Draco the Dragon's tale, the constellation that lies just above the Big Dipper, also known as Ursa Major, the Big Bear. The meteorites originate from the tale of the comet, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.

We did indeed catch a couple ice balls come to a fiery end in the stratosphere. But there was very little a snow ball from space can do to turn an eye when the northern lights turn up the heat. Even the Big Dipper dimmed in comparison. Those little flecks in the shots are not noise and camera imperfections, but stars playing peek-a-boo from behind the atmospheric petticoats. If you look to the left of the photo below, starting about a quarter of the way up, you can spot the Ursa Major's telltale soup ladle. The Big Dipper is generally center-stage in my backyard.

If you visited my last blog, you would have been greeted with another session of aurora taken from my backyard.

The lights were predominantly green that night, green signally the excitement of monoatomic oxygen. This time out we had the full rainbow of colors, from red to violet, atomic displays resembling nebulae or galactic collisions, more than humble elemental clouds.

We can thank nitrogen for the pink and some of the red. Other red comes from diatomic oxygen, blue and purple come from hydrogen and helium. Those shades on the further sides of the rainbow can prove difficult to see with the naked eye, but with a camera able to gather extra light, very little of the show is missed.

I did go out last night with hopes of catching sight of the comet,Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. It was the closest it was going to get on October 12th. Alas, although there was some great star viewing to be had, the southwest sky was cloudy. Tonight the same thing. Hopefully, the sky will clear where it needs to, and we will get a glimpse of the Oort Cloud traveller. The bright Hunter Moon coming up won't make it easy.

I was thinking now that I live so far north. My camera may prove short on flowers. I hope, Hivelanders, you will accept sky blooms instead, at least to the Spring thaw.

Bastet’s Shadow

translating the light
deep within the mass
of an oscillating sea
where dark matter
may be unearthed

is this the dense abyss
of weightless discovery
or are we on the pinpoint crest
of the vast, forever unknown

the empirical quandary
smell
see
touch
hear
taste
how can you grasp
that which eludes
the senses
limited so, by physical reach

Anubis chases Bastet’s shadow
or is it his burnt-out cosmic tail
orbital law or laying a groove
silky space-time
or bottomless quicksand

can you dig it

the darkest, coolest of cats
alive or dead, existing or not
will not be contained in a box

meet me at the intersection
of everywhere and nowhere
it’s a hole of a place
look for me; I’ll be the one
with spaghettified scratches

***

Words and Images are my own.

Bastet's Shadow is published in Monsters, Avatars, and Angels. Strays and the Wisp are available in paperback or digital through amazon and your local libraries and bookstores. Click on any title below to further explore and support my writing.