We are introduced to the classification of different kinds of stars as well as different kinds of galaxies. We are told about black holes, dark matter and dark energy, We find out about the Big Bang Theory and the possible end of the Universe.
Learning about the Universe is both stimulating and daunting. Although it is intended to be a very basic course, a lot of the more technical stuff is not all that easy to grasp and the huge size of the enormous distances and the length of the time involved is almost impossible for me to get my mind around.
I am enjoying the whole course, but one of the best parts is going out at the same time each night and observing Orion. We are supposed to take a photo of Orion once a week, but this is beyond me. Either my camera is not good enough or I am not using it properly, but all I get is a black space. So I just stand and stare at this group of stars in the sky and it is very beautiful. Although I haven't been able to get pictures of Orion have been able to see that Orion has moved (relative to the earth, not the other stars) and is further overhead than when I started observations three weeks ago.
My Poem about Orion
LEARNING ABOUT ORION
In the constellation of Orion
somewhere halfway between
Red giant Betelgeuse
and White giant Rigel, lies
Orion Nebula, a fuzzy place, a womb
where stars are born.
As Orion sweeps across the sky,
his hunting dogs beside him,
chasing the Pleiedes, bow at the ready,
he carries below his belt the seeds
of suns. They swirl in multi-coloured clouds
of purple, yellow, green and blue.
In the wide disc which gathers round
a sphere that will become a new young sun,
are bits of debris, which, with dust
and ashes from celestial conflagrations
might form, after a million years
another Earth like ours
