In February, we can watch the brilliant and easily recognizable constellation Orion setting over the mountains. Here are some fun facts about Orion:  

·         Orion was a mighty hunter of legend. He is accompanied in the sky by two hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor).  Several other animals, presumably his quarry, are located nearby: Lepus the Hare, Columba the Dove, and Taurus the Bull (Orion is often pictured in battle with Taurus). Monoceros the Unicorn is at his back, but probably isn’t related to his legend!

·         Orion’s bright belt of three stars is easy to spot. Just below it are three much fainter stars, his dagger. The middle “star” of the dagger is the Orion Nebula (pictured above), a vast cloud of gas where new stars are being born right now! With binoculars, you’ll see that this “star” is actually a smoky greenish hazy patch, lit up by the baby stars it contains.   

·         Betelgeuse is the bright red-orange star at Orion’s right shoulder. It is a huge star, hundreds of times larger than the sun, and is nearing the end of its life. Sometime within the next 100,000 years it will explode in a massive explosion called a supernova, and will be bright enough to see by day in Earth’s sky.   

·         Most of the stars of Orion are huge bright supergiant stars, far hotter and brighter than the sun, and are located many hundreds of light years away.   

·         Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, is the Dog Star trailing just behind Orion. Sirius is a next door neighbor of our sun, and is located just under 9 light years away. Rigel, the blue white supergiant star that marks Orion’s foot, appears nearly as bright but it is located one hundred times farther away than Sirius! If Rigel could be moved as close as Sirius, it would be the brightest object in our sky after the sun and full moon, and would cast deep shadows at night. At Rigel’s distance, Sirius would appear so faint it would require a telescope just to see it.   

This Snowberry Clearwing is a harmless, plump little moth that mimics a stinging bumblebee (yellow & black warning stripes, clear wings) to scare off predators. But unlike bees, they can hover at flowers to extend a straw-like proboscis for nectar.

Mimicry is everywhere - just look in your garden for examples. The Anise Swallowtail in the previous picture has tails and spots on its hind wings, mimicking a fake head with an eye and antennae. When a bird tries to snatch up the butterfly, it strikes for the head…which isn’t real. The butterfly escapes in an unexpected direction.

Fake eye spots are also found on the hindwing of some drab moths. When at rest, the moth pretends to be tree bark with brown speckled colors; but if it’s startled, it flashes its big eyespots. For an instant it looks like an owl or other dangerous predator, giving it a chance to fly off.

Many of the bees and wasps you see are actually harmless flies with black and yellow colors. By resembling something with a sting, they avoid becoming a tasty snack.