Dear fellow fanfiction authors:
Last night was a stargazer's dream at my farm in southern Alberta. I just had gotten back from the local town's rodeo (we had the most amazing fireworks) and it was like 11 o'clock at night. One of the best things about being away from towns and cities is that there is no light pollution to block the stars. Now any stargazer will tell you that the most difficult planet to see with the naked eye is Mars. But it is so bright right now (Wednesday was the closest it has been or will be for 5 thousand years) that I was able to pick it out easily. At the moment it is as bright as Betelgeuse but a twinkling red. The New Moon was Wednesday but I haven't seen a hide or hair of it since then (good for Remus eh?) which is awesome for stargazing because it doesn't outshine the stars and block your view of them. Then I found Polaris, the North Star; if you point a camera that doesn't automatically close it's shutters after you take the picture at Polaris and leave the shutter open for an hour or more than you will get beautiful swirls of stars as they rotate around the North Star. I stopped to admire the Northern Lights for a few moments, you usually don't see them in the summer. Afterwards I found some of my favourite constellations: Cassiopeia, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Pegasus and Andromeda (the two are practically joined), and Orion.
I stopped at Orion, he is such a beautiful constellation. But he was not what I had stayed out to see. I traced a line from his belt upwards and to the right to the constellation Canis Major. The brightest star in that constellation, indeed one of the brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, is Sirius. There he was, twinkling down at me as if to offer some comfort for his passing. Just the sight of him brought tears to my eyes. I am still angered that J K Rowling made him die (I am sure that she had a reason for it but still,) but to see him made me think. He is still there for us, watching over us, and even though he is dead we can see him any time we want. He'll always be there twinkling merrily for you, all you have to do is look. Rowling may have killed Sirius' character in the books but he will never truly die.
The next time you are out looking at the stars take a look for our old buddy Sirius, he'll be shining for you.
Yours truly,
Erenriel the Elven Canuck
Last night was a stargazer's dream at my farm in southern Alberta. I just had gotten back from the local town's rodeo (we had the most amazing fireworks) and it was like 11 o'clock at night. One of the best things about being away from towns and cities is that there is no light pollution to block the stars. Now any stargazer will tell you that the most difficult planet to see with the naked eye is Mars. But it is so bright right now (Wednesday was the closest it has been or will be for 5 thousand years) that I was able to pick it out easily. At the moment it is as bright as Betelgeuse but a twinkling red. The New Moon was Wednesday but I haven't seen a hide or hair of it since then (good for Remus eh?) which is awesome for stargazing because it doesn't outshine the stars and block your view of them. Then I found Polaris, the North Star; if you point a camera that doesn't automatically close it's shutters after you take the picture at Polaris and leave the shutter open for an hour or more than you will get beautiful swirls of stars as they rotate around the North Star. I stopped to admire the Northern Lights for a few moments, you usually don't see them in the summer. Afterwards I found some of my favourite constellations: Cassiopeia, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Pegasus and Andromeda (the two are practically joined), and Orion.
I stopped at Orion, he is such a beautiful constellation. But he was not what I had stayed out to see. I traced a line from his belt upwards and to the right to the constellation Canis Major. The brightest star in that constellation, indeed one of the brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, is Sirius. There he was, twinkling down at me as if to offer some comfort for his passing. Just the sight of him brought tears to my eyes. I am still angered that J K Rowling made him die (I am sure that she had a reason for it but still,) but to see him made me think. He is still there for us, watching over us, and even though he is dead we can see him any time we want. He'll always be there twinkling merrily for you, all you have to do is look. Rowling may have killed Sirius' character in the books but he will never truly die.
The next time you are out looking at the stars take a look for our old buddy Sirius, he'll be shining for you.
Yours truly,
Erenriel the Elven Canuck