Our Little Patch of Sky

The night sky is so spectacular in the area of Mill Creek, that my dad used to try and plan our trips during the new moon, so the sky was as awesome as possible. We used to head to the meadow at night and check out the stars.

Now the brook is gone and the meadow has reverted to wetlands, and while the certified Dark Sky zone is still on hit, the view from the deck is obstructed by trees. It's still pretty cool, but it is our Little Patch of Sky, and it's in this patch that I spotted the appearance of a new constellation that I have named.

I stared to take pictures of Our Little Patch of Sky at different times of day specifically for a purpose like this post.

Here we go:

8:34 am

1:18 pm

4:49 pm

6:11 pm

7:50 pm

9:06 pm

The first celestial object that makes up the constellation I discovered/interpreted anew is visible in the picture above, in the lower left section of the X. It was the first object we could see, and I'm pretty sure it's Venus. I'll post a mock up of the constellation when I can figure out how to print out a blank star-chart and draw it in.

I call it Vaggitarius.

By 10:30 pm the sky is nice, and by 3:30 am, Mars is a red light amongst a cityscape of lights.