Welcome to day two of Just Jot It January for 2023. Today’s word is constellation.
Growing up in the Valley, the stars were always bright and beautiful. The sky above seemed the path to every faraway dream I could fathom. Watching the summer’s night sky through an open bedroom window was a favorite way to fall asleep.
I cannot remember who first pointed to the skies and pointed out the big dipper and the little dipper, but it was comforting. Always together, I learned how to locate one once I had found the other. It wasn’t until years later that I heard the terms Ursa Major and Ursa Minor or learned the north star was actually named Polaris. Somehow big dipper and little dipper were more comforting to me.
The one thing I loved about moving back to the mountains was the night sky. Without so much ambient light, the stars are magnificent. As a matter of fact, when I travel, I always appreciate a location more when the stars are prominent in the night sky. It was one of the things I loved so much about Sedona. Every constellation seemed electrified.
Years ago we took our grandson to see the Imax movie Hidden Universe which transports the viewer into deep space as seen from the European Southern Observatory telescopes in Chile. Suddenly I was thrust into a much more beautifully chaotic universe than I ever imagined as a child. I remember thinking how infinitesimal we are in the world and how foolish mankind is to imagine ourselves at the center of the universe.
Somehow, the little girl in me still finds comfort in finding the big dipper and imagining the line that connects it to the handle of the little dipper. It is an important constant that connects me to my roots in a way like nothing else can.
Written as part of Linda Hill’s JusJoJan.
Prompt word today (constellation) submitted by Willow from Willowdot21.
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