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Old 30-12-2016, 03:41 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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mental4astro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,979
Oh, I nearly forgot!

There's a ding-dong battle happening right over our heads every night during our summer, and it's been happening for several hundred years!!



Every night when you look up during summer, Orion the Hunter is doing battle with Taurus the Bull. The mighty Orion is holding his lion skin shield up to Taurus, with his trusty club cocked at the ready in his other hand. Canis Major and Canis Minor, the Hunter's dogs, rally around their master, keeping watch over Columba, the dove, and Lepus, the hare - the Hunter's quarry.

The lion skin shield and club can be traced coming off Orion's shoulders. Taurus' horns are formed by the "V" shape of the cluster The Hyades. The brilliant red star, Aldebaran, the location of one of its bloodshot eyes, has nothing to do with the large cluster. It is a foreground star between us and the cluster. The sheath holding Orion's sword is marked by the asterism of stars around M42, which hangs off the trio of stars forming the Hunter's belt.

And you thought that the Heavens were a quiet place!

Below is an image showing what the celestial battle taking place looks like. You'll have to flip it upside down for it to resemble the way we see things here in Oz.
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