Further signs that winter is not going to last forever! Before christmas, the sight of Arcturus rising over the rooftops gave me some sort of hope that eventually sping would come and my numb, agonised, bicycle riding purple hands wouldn't have to suffer forever.
Since then, there's barely been a star to be seen as white stuff fell out of the sky, and grey clouds blanketed us in misery. But the last few days, there's been a few clear night skies to be seen, and in the mornings, as I rolled my bicycle out to work, the winter skies have given over to summer ones, even if the temperatures still firmly belong to January.
In the South West, the huge constellation of Virgo takes over not far off a quarter of the sky, it's galaxy filled libation bowl star pattern seeming to await and offering from Leo the Lion. Saturn shines creamily, a little further from Spica than it was in December, when Venus was adding to the show too.
Something to say about Spica. I don't know whether my eyes are going funny, but whereas once Vega was the only star that appeared to have a definitely blue colour, Spica now also seems to have a distincy blue cast to it, although not as beautifully intense as the steely glow of Vega. Come springtime, if you're not an early morning cyclist like me, take a look at a more civil hour than 6am!
Meanwhile, athwart the very south of the sky, sits Scorpius. It's claws are grabbing the sky away towards London, a malevolent celestial threat to the capital, and it's heart, bloody red Antares, beats its evil on the vault. It's a pity you can't see the whole beast from the UK, for it rivals Orion as the most spectacular constellation in the sky. Hopefully I will see the whole thing again soon.
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