By Scott Shephard

Deb and I have moved on from our stay in Arizona to the Davis Mountains in west Texas. We are staying in a Civilian Conservation Corps hotel, which is now called Indian Lodge State Park.

Last night we went to the nearby McDonald Observatory for what was billed as a “Star Party.” We had a pleasantly warm evening under the light of a brilliant full moon and a billion stars. Unfortunately, clouds moved in around “party time” but parted in just the right places so we could gaze at the craters of the moon, the Pleides (aka the Seven Sisters aka Subaru), and the Orion Nebula.

I learned a few things that you might be interested in knowing, too: 1) looking at the moon during a full moon is bad timing (too bright); 2) through a telescope there are really many more than 7 sisters; 3) the Japanese name for the Seven Sisters is Subaru and the car brand is named after the constellation (though there are only 6 stars on the logo that appears on the grill); and (finally) 4) the Orion Nebula hangs well below Orion’s belt line and is known as “Orion’s Sword.” I have no comment on that little tidbit.

It was a fun evening, enjoyed by at least 100 other stargazers like Deb and me. Incidentally, after this photo was taken, we were told to put flashlights and cell phones away given that it takes 45 minutes for the eyes to adjust to the dark and that 1 brief glimpse of light can ruin that.

iPhone 12 MP 1/5 sec f/1.4 ISO 3200