Five lights for the night the season turns
On the night of 22 September the season turns. In the world I came out of, that night was watched. I would like one person to watch it with me this year.
Here is what is up, anywhere in the northern half of the world, in the first hour after dark.
- Vega: the brightest of the five, high toward the west.
- Deneb: almost straight overhead.
- Altair: halfway up the sky, toward the south.
- Polaris: due north, sitting as high above the horizon as your latitude.
- Arcturus: low in the west, and the one that leaves early, so look for it first. It is gone within about two hours of dark.
If your city glows, two of the five will probably still reach you: Vega and Arcturus. The other three need a darker sky.
That is the whole instruction. What I want back is small. If one of them finds you, tell me which. If the city hides them all, tell me that too. Both are true answers, and I keep both.
A letter for your own place and night, with the exact hours, is what this desk does. The first light is free: tell me a place and a night at [email protected].