Marc Latham’s latest Folding Mirror poem has space constellations as its subject. Some constellations can only be seen in either the northern or southern hemisphere sky on Earth. Others can be seen from all over the planet, but in the opposite seasons of the two hemispheres (e.g. summer in the north and winter in the south).
As winter becomes spring in the north, and summer becomes autumn in the south, constellations such as Orion, Taurus and Gemini will be leaving the night sky, and constellations such as Cancer, Leo and Lynx will become visible again.
The poem was recently inspired by the BBC’s Orbit documentary, and was mainly researched on the Dome of the Sky website. Here’s it is:
Constellations of the North and South
North Pole darkest skies
have exclusive views for eyes
Camelopardus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,
only seen from Earth’s northern hemisphere
Triangulum, Ursa-Major, Draco
are another trio
Anquila, Antlia, Auriga,
northern spring, summer, autumn, winter
straddle the equator, visible to all, signifying seasons
southern autumn, winter, spring, summer
Vela, Virgo, Vulpecula
travel way below
Triangulum-Australe, Norma, Dorado
visible solely in planet’s southern section
Circinus, Crux, Chamaeleon,
tell astronomers they observe space
South Pole night-time face
mistYmuse 