Moriarte's Weblog

Warren Buffet On Dynastic Wealth

2009-10-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffet has already pledged a great proportion of his wealth to charity and, even though the richest man on the planet, in 2007/08 payed himself just $100,000 with a $75,000 bonus.

He applies his honest work ethos to all areas of life including his three grown up children Susie, Howard, and Peter. They will be taken care of but will not be the major beneficiaries of his extraordinary wealth. As Buffet said:

"I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing".

Funny Celebrity Doubles

2009-02-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is a video I put together showing a bunch of celebrities who look like other celebrities. Enjoy:

Norman Finkelstein: Israel is committing a holocaust in Gaza

2009-01-19T04:32:00.000-08:00

This article is takingin it's entirety from Zaman newspaper dated 19/1/09.

Please follow the link and read on: (here)

2009: Predictions Going Forward

2008-10-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

With the turbulence in the stock markets and the downturn in the real economy in mind, here is a good explaination I read regarding the situation complete with predictions going forward. Read on and enjoy:

seekingalpha.com

There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods

2008-10-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

'There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods'
by Lord George Gordon Byron

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Current Financial Crisis and The Great Depression

2008-10-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

(Taken in entirety from Seekingalpha.com

Today marks the one year anniversary of the all-time closing high set in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. On October 9th, 2007, the DJIA set an Intra-day high of 14279.96. One year later, we are off 35.8% (as of midday Thursday). Since this current situation is currently being compared to the Great Depression, let's do some comparisons...

On September 3rd, 1929, the DJIA reached a record intra-day high of 386.1. One year later, September 3rd, 1930, it had fallen 38.5% Notice how closely that parallels the current crisis.

So looking at the current level of the Dow, are you ready to jump in at these bargain-basement levels? Before you act, let's look at what happened in years two and three of the Great Depression. Suppose you jumped into the market in September of 1930 thinking you were looking at similar bargains...

By September 3rd, 1931, the Dow had fallen 65.5% from its peak just two years before.

On July 8th, 1932, the Dow had an intra-day low of 40.56, or 89.5% off its peak in less than three years.

So the next logical question is, how long did it take to recover back to the peak of 386.1? Are you ready for this?

November 26th, 1954...a full 25 years after the peak set in 1929.

Seeing how the first year of the current crisis is trading on par with the first year of the Great Depression, one could draw the conclusion that we may not see Dow 14K again until 2032.

Brown's Bottom

2008-10-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

In 1999 Gordon Brown somehow managed to flog more than half of Britain's painfully acquired gold reserves (400 tons) just before the gold price took off, costing us a mind-boggling £2bn. He actually managed to trade at the worst prices in the last quarter century.

It was May 1999 and the gold price had stagnated for much of the decade. The traders present — including senior executives from at least two big investment banks — warned that Brown, who was not at the meeting, could barely have chosen a worse moment.

In the room, just behind the governor’s main office, they cautioned that gold traditionally moved in decades-long cycles and that the price was likely to increase. They added that even if the sale were to go ahead, the timings and amounts should not be announced, as the gold price would plunge.

Martin Stokes, former vice-president at JP Morgan, who was also present, said: “I was surprised they had chosen the auction method. It indicated they did not have a real understanding of the gold market

Sources: TimesOnline
:burningourmoney.blogspot.com

Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

2008-10-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is a rather revealing look into the world of an NSA operative, in this case John Perkins. Here he talks about his book 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' the Inside Story of How America Turned From a Respected Republic into a Feared Empire.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_WRmdSND9Vg

1903 - First Silent Movie: The Great Train Robbery

2008-09-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

First Silent Movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903): Produced by Thomas Edison but directed and filmed by Edison Company employee Edwin S. Porter, The Great Train Robbery was the first narrative movie, one that told a story. The film is a classic western with four bandits who rob a train and its passengers of their valuables and then make their grand escape only to be killed in a shootout by a posse sent after them.

The Great Train Robbery was hugely popular with audiences. The approximately twelve minutes of film that starred Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was played across the country in 1904 and then played in the first nickelodeons (theaters in which movies cost a nickel to see) in 1905. The Great Train Robbery's popularity lead directly to the opening up of permanent movie theaters and opened up the possibility of a future film industry.

This was taken from an article written by By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com

Why Do We Never Notice The Obvious?

2008-09-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Ever wondered why we rarely see that which is obvious or 'under our very noses'? I found a great explaination on this phenomenan written by Richard Wiseman. For the solution click here

Ozymandias

2008-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I've noted a few examples of artists who have mentioned or cross referenced their work with that of some of their contemporaries. For instance, David Bowie's song 'Sound and Vision'and Nick Lowe's 'Breaking Glass'. Also David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' and Elton John's 'Rocket Man'.

A historical example is the sonnet "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818. It is probably Shelley's most famous short poem and was written in competition with his friend Horace Smith, who wrote another sonnet entitled "Ozymandias".

'Ozymandias was another name of Ramesses the Great, Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. Ozymandias represents a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re. The sonnet paraphrases the inscription on the base of the statue, given by Diodorus Siculus as "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works'. (Wikipedia). Enjoy.

OZYMANDIAS by Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

OZYMANDIAS by Smith

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

Schadenfreude And Mudita

2008-09-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hera are some interesting explanation of certain emotions I found interesting:

Schadenfreude is enjoyment taken from the misfortune of someone else.

Envy is unhappiness in another's good fortune.

On the other side there is:

Mudita, "sympathetic joy" or "happiness in another's good fortune,". It is cited as an example of the opposite of schadenfreude.

Pity or Compassion, is "unhappiness at another's misfortune",

C. Auguste Dupin : The First Great Detective

2008-09-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

In her autobiography Christie admits that with Poirot "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp.

For his part Conan Doyle acknowledged basing Sherlock Holmes on the model of Edgar Allan Poe's fictional French detective C. Auguste Dupin, who in his use of "ratiocination" prefigures Poirot's reliance on his "little grey cells".

C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story.[1] He reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and "The Purloined Letter" (1844).Detective fiction, however, had no real precedent and the word detective had not yet been coined when Poe first introduced Dupin.

Interesting Facts

Doyle once said, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?"[21]

In the first Holmes story, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887), Doctor Watson compares Holmes to Dupin, to which Holmes replies, "No doubt you think you are complimenting me ... In my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow,"[28] despite the fact that the detective was evidently inspired by the other.

(This information was taken from Wikipedia

Onwards and Beyond

2008-09-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

It emerged from the primordial slime,
It had a rendez-vous in time,
With it's great, wise eye at once it knew
what it was it had to do,
And in its outstretched arm did grow and was lead
by the all embracing Cosmic Egg

List of international enclaves and exclaves

2008-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

http://geosite.jankrogh.com/exclaves.htm

How Do I Lose Fat?

2008-08-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

(Other Health and Fitness topics can be found at http://fitnesscentral.weebly.com/

Quite simply, in order to lose fat you have to be consuming less calories than you are using up. The two ways you can achieve this is by eating less and/or exercising more.

Step 1 is to find out your body's calorific maintenance level. Counting calories and weighing yourself for a week should provide you with this figure.

Step2 is to ensure you consume 500 calories less than your body's maintenance level each day.
500 calories is an important amount as any more will be interpretated as times of famine by your body and so when you do eat, more calories will be stored as fat. It is best to eat 5 to 6 small meals spaced out to every 3 hours to increase your body's metabolism but ultimately your fat loss will be determined by the calorific deficit in your diet. Remember to drink plenty of water as this is essential to the fat burning process, allows maximum absorption of nutrients from your food and facilitates the removal of toxins from the body.

Step 3 is to concentrate on cardiovascular exercises. Do at least four sessions per week for a minimum of twenty minutes building up eventually to five sessions of45 minutes. Try to maintain your heart rate in the optimal fat burning zone

Step 4 is to measure and monitor your results.

Fact: You need to burn off 3,500 calories in order to lose 1lb of fat. Therefore, by reducing your calories by 500 per day you will be able to lose 1lb of fat by the end of a week (7 x 500 = 3,500 calories).

Recommended Exercises:

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Aerobic Exercise maintaining a heart rate in the fat burning zone.
Weight Training.

Have other Health related questions answered at http://fitnesscentral.weebly.com/

Does Oxypowder Really Work?

2008-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

My 7 Day Experience With Oxy-Powder

(More on this and other health related issue can be found on http://fitnesscentral.weebly.com/ )

THE DAY BEFORE

I'm a 41 year old male, 6'2", reasonably healthy and try to exercise and eat the right types of food when I can. I've been reading about the benefits that colonic cleansing can have on your overall health and so have decided, after a bit of research, to give the much advertised Oxypowder 7 day course a go.
This morning (30/03/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 173.3lbs, Body Fat: 12.8%, Water: 60.8%.
Just before going to sleep I took 4 capsules to start the process going.

DAY 1

This morning (31/03/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 12.1%, Water: 61.5%.
At 9.30am, 12, and 2pm I had small, dark and liquid bowl movements (bms), which were odourless and looked like wall paint. Generally these occurred soon after food.I have felt a bit light headed and drowsy today.Just before going to sleep I took 6 capsules to increase the effect which, for me, had been at the lower end of the 3 to 5 bms a day range.

DAY 2

This morning (1/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 173.2lbs, Body Fat: 12.8%, Water: 60.8%.
10am, 1pm, (1.30pm) I had good size dark, liquid movements with no odour. I felt fine and not lightheaded or drowsy like yesterday.

DAY 3

This morning I took 8 capsules as 6 didn't seem enough.This morning (2/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 170lbs, Body Fat: 11.5%, Water: 62%.
11am I had large, soft, odourless bms (the consistency of porridge, if you forgive the analogy). 5pm, 6pm, 6.30pm I had a semi liquid bm with no odour. I have noticed black dots/specks in the stools. I found this explanation at http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtstools.htm 'Black specks may be seeds, foods, or from die off of yeast or bacteria.If you start any supplement that might create looser stools, temporary diarrhea, or die-off of yeast or bacteria (like an antibiotic, pro biotic, digestive enzymes, anti fungal, laxative, etc), you might see dark or black flecks in stool during this 'cleaning out' period. Certain types of adverse bacteria in the colon can produce dark residues and this is getting cleaned out'.Just before going to sleep I took 10 capsules.

Day 4

This morning (3/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 12.4%, Water: 61.2%
11am, 3pm I had good size, soft , odourless bms. I have noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.6.30pm I had a smallish, semi liquid, odourless bms with more black specks in the stool.

DAY 5

Early this morning I took 10 capsules.This morning (4/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 170.5lbs, Body Fat: 11.7%, Water: 61%
10am, 3pm I had good size, soft odourless bms. I have noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.8pm I almost had to encourage myself to go in order to reach the minimum 3 bms a day. The stool was odourless, small and what might be called butt-pee with some soft flakes in it. The black specks were present.

DAY 6

Early this morning I took 10 capsules.This morning (5/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight : 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 11.9%, Water: 61.6%
12pm, 2pm I had good size, soft, odourless bms. This was followed by a bit of diarrhea probably due to the amount of water I had drunk . I noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.Just before going to sleep I took 12 capsules as 10 didn't seem enough today.

DAY 7

This morning (6/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight: 171.6lbs, Body Fat: 12%, Water: 61.5%
10am, 11.30am, 1pm I had good size, soft, odourless bms. This was followed by a bit of diarrhea. I noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.

DAY AFTER

This morning (7/04/08) my body stats were:
Weight : 171.3lbs, Body Fat: 11.9%, Water: 61.6%
12pm went to loo and bm back to usual pre-Oxypowder state.

Synopsis

Overall I would say that this is a fair product, although I would assume there are stronger products out there. My experience with Oxypowder was that:
-I felt a little lightheaded on the first day on Oxypowder but much less so thereafter.
-Regardless of the amount of capsules I took, (up to 12 capsules a day) I still had the 3 bowel movements a day.
-Most bm's came a little after food and throughout the course I never felt like I wouldn't make it to the loo in time.-Aside from the black specks in the stools, I didn't notice anything unusual or foul smelling.
-I lost 1.7lbs, probably due to the balance of foods I consumed over this period.
-I feel it has been worthwhile and that I've benefited from a good, healthy flush out.

http://fitnesscentral.weebly.com/

USA, European and Russian Manoeuvring

2008-08-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

This is taken from an article in Turkish newspaper Zaman, (29/08/08)

At the heart of Washington’s weapons shield plan, coupled with NATO’s expansion policy, is a classic divide-and-conquer multi layered stratagem.

First layer: Divide the EU from Russia. This is done by placing a firm wedge between Moscow and Brussels -- thus the US scuttles the possibility of a non-confrontation EU approach towards Russia, which could possibly lead to a Europe “whole and free” or, as President Francois Mitterrand once suggested, to an area of prosperity stretching from the “Atlantic to the Urals.”
Washington also seeks to rally its increasingly unruly European partners around the principle of NATO’s collective security blanket, using rhetoric that recalls the old evil empire hegemon as a convenient scarecrow to unify the alliance. Russia’s new bugaboo status in Brussels, only further cows central European states to do Washington’s bidding. This stratagem also impedes any chance the EU may one day cast off Uncle Sam’s stewardship of European defense in favor of a CFSP (common foreign and security policy).

On another level, the US has also sought to divide in the continent between “old” and “new” Europe.

And finally in 2008, with the installation of the missile shield Washington seeks to divide the citizenry from their government. The ruling pro American elite in central Europe persist with the project, giving little or none consideration to public opposition.

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

2008-08-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

These are my favourite verses from:

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.

............

The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.

...............

A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.

..................

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

.............

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;

The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.

................

The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.

One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole nation sell and buy.

.....

The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.

Book Review: The Zarkon Principle

2008-08-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Zarkon Principle: Can Man Become a God?Published by Everest Books Ltd., 4 Valentine Place, London First Edition 1974

One of the most magical and mysterious books I remember reading as a boy was 'The Zarkon Principle' . Each chapter is introduced with a beautiful quote or literary reference, such as William Blake's - Auguries of Innocence;

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

In it, the enigmatic author 'Zarkon' explores and explains, with seeming authority, some of the legends and mysteries which have puzzled mankind throughout its history. He studies the history of ALCHEMY, FREEMASONRY, AND THEOSOPHY. Looks at THE PYRAMIDS AND STONEHENGE. Examines the lives of JESUS CHRIST, ALEISTER CROWLEY, AND ADOLPH HITLER. ASKS THE QUESTION: HOW MANY YEARS HAS MANKIND TO GO? and comes up with a grimly convincing answer. The book is written and set out in such a clear and intelligent way that you feel completely absorbed throughout and that you're privy to a unique insight into a secret world.

This is my tribute to 'The Zarkon Principle'; a must for mystery and sci-fi enthusiasts alike and a truly original classic read from my past.

Step 7: Ursa Major And Ursa Minor

2008-08-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

Ursa Major (The Big Bear) is one of the most noted and conspicuous constellations in the northern hemisphere, and is readily and unmistakably distinguished from all others by means of a remarkable cluster of seven bright stars in the northern heavens, forming what is familiarly termed "The Dipper."* In the Northern hemisphere Ursa Major never sets below the horizon, and is circumpolar in England and the Northern United States.* The stars Merak and Dubhe are called the pointers, because they always point toward the Pole Star, Polaris.* Note little Alcor close to Mizar. These stars appear close together and were used by the Arabs as a test of good eyesight by being able to distinguish one from the other.Ursa Minor (The Lesser Bear) has been more universally observed and more carefully noticed than any other constellation, on account of the importance of the North Star, Polaris.*Polaris is a little more than 1¼° from the true pole. Its light takes fifty years to reach us*Polaris revolves around the true pole once in twenty-four hours in a little circle 2½° in diameter. Within this circle two hundred stars have been photographed.* The North Star is always elevated as many degrees above the horizon as the observer is north of the equator.The MythOne version of the legend goes that Callisto's beauty surpassed that of Hera/Juno, which so infuriated the goddess that she turned her into a bear.Years later, Arcas, Callisto's son, was out hunting and was about to kill the bear unwittingly when Zeus/Jupiter intervened and swung both Callisto and Arcas, now transformed into a bear, up into the sky as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor respectively.Hera/Juno was annoyed the pair were given so much honour and so convinced Poseidon/Neptune to forbid them from bathing. It is for this reason That these constellations are circumpolar and never dip below the horizon when viewed from Northern latitudes.

Step 6: Mapping The Night Sky Using Ursa Major

2008-08-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Using Ursa Major (a.k.a; the big dipper, plough or saucepan) as a reference point we are able to build up a map of its surrounding constellations:Ursa Major: This translates as 'The Big Bear' and the 7 brightest stars in this constellation form the part known as the plough or big dipper, although the whole constellation spreads over a greater area of the sky. It is the most famous of all Northern constellations and is circumpolar in England and the Northern United States. A line through the last two stars on the map, also known as 'the pointers', leads to the star 'Polaris' or 'The North Star' which has been used as a direction helper for thousands of years.Ursa Minor: This translates as 'The Little Bear' and the 7 main stars of this constellation form a shape similar to Canis Major, but with the tail of the bear pointing in the opposite direction. The two pointer stars in Ursa Major indicate the position of Polaris, the North Star, and in all ages of the world, Ursa Minor has been more universally observed and more carefully noticed than any other constellation, on account of the importance of the North Star.Polaris is a little more than 1¼° from the true pole. Its light takes fifty years to reach us. Polaris revolves around the true pole once in twenty-four hours in a little circle 2½° in diameter. Within this circle two hundred stars have been photographed.The North Star is always elevated as many degrees above the horizon as the observer is north of the equator.Cassiopeia: A line through the last star at the handle end of the big dipper and through Polaris will lead onto a conspicuous W shaped group of stars called Cassiopeia. It depicts a Queen sat on her throne and The Milky Way runs through this constellation.Bootes: Following the tail of the Plough down for 30 degrees leads onto Bootes, which is Greek for 'The Ploughman'. It contains the beautiful bright orange star Arcturus.Leo: This can be found by following the line on the map through Ursa Major. Leo is one of the most beautiful constellations in the zodiac. It lies south of the Great Bear, and its principal stars are arranged in the form of a sickle which nearly outlines the Lion's head. This group is so striking as to be unmistakable. Regulus is in the handle of the sickle. It is a white star, one of the stars from which longitude is reckoned and lies almost exactly on the ecliptic (The ecliptic is the plane the Earth and most of the other planets orbit about the Sun. The constellations of the Zodiac also lie along the ecliptic).Gemini: Following the line shown on the map we come to the Zodiacal constellation Gemini, the twins. Gemini is characterized by two nearly parallel rows of stars. The northern row if extended would reach Taurus, the southern one Orion. The two brightest stars in this constellation are Pollux and Castor. Castor is a fine double for a telescope, and Pollux has three little attendant stars.

Step 5: Interesting Facts About Orion

2008-08-17T05:09:00.000-07:00

The constellation Orion is pictured as a giant hunter with a shield in his hand, a belt, a sword and surrounded by his dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor).* Orion is visualised as fighting the bull, represented by the constellation Taurus nearby.*Orion contains 2 of the 10 brightest stars in the night sky; Betelgeuse (red super giant) and Rigel (Blue white super giant).* The 3 bright stars in the middle represent his sword belt. The equator of the sky passes close to the upper star of his belt, so that half of Orion is in the Northern hemisphere and the other part in the southern hemisphere.* Below his belt you can see 3 stars representing his sword. Here can be seen a misty patch called the 'Great Nebula'. This can be seen with the naked eye and is a huge cloud of dust and gas inside which new stars are being formed.* Orion's appearance in the night sky means that winter is coming. From mid-northern latitudes, Orion is visible in the evening from November to early May and in the morning from late July to November.* The Pleiades star cluster lie beyond Orion. In mythology the Pleiades were the 7 daughters of the giant Atlas. They begged Zeus to save them from Orion's pursuit and so he placed them in the sky with Orion pursuing them east to west without ever being able to catch them up.

Step 4: Mapping The Night Sky Using Orion

2008-08-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Using Orion as a reference point we are able to build up a map of its surrounding constellations:

Orion is the most striking constellation in the night sky and is pictured as the giant hunter from Greek mythology.. The star Betelgeuse represents one of his shoulders and a sword belt and sword hanging down from his waist can be visualised where the Nebula M42 is shown on the above map. The two stars below his sword belt, which include Rigel, represent Orion's legs.Taurus: A line through Orion's belt leads up to the constellation of Taurus. The Hyades are a part of Taurus and form a distinctive triangular shape consisting of 6 stars and represents the head of the bull. You will also notice a large red star in this constellation which is called Alderbaran and represents the red eye of the bull.Pleiades: Following the same line through Orions belt, and past Taurus you will come to the Pleiades cluster, also known as the seven sisters.Canis Major: This is found by following the line through Orion's belt in the opposite direction.This constellation translates as the 'big dog' and represents Orion's senior hunting dog. Included in this constellation is the star Sirius which is the brightest star in the night sky. Any object brighter than Sirius is likely to be a planet and not a star.Canis Minor: A litttle higher in the sky we find Canis Minor or 'the lesser dog'. This constellation consists practically of one star called Procyon, one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky. Procyon translates from Greek as 'before the dog' and is seen rising in the sky before the dog star 'Sirius'.Procyon is one of our nearest neighbouring stars at 10 light years distant.
Auriga: A line from Orion's first leg and the first star in his belt leads onto the constellation of Auriga which is a distinctive pentagon shape and has an impressive large, bright,yellow star called Capella.Gemini: A line through Rigel and Betelgeuse leads onto the twins Pollox and Castor, who were the twins from Greek mythology and the names of the stars in this constellation. The two bright stars you see there represent the twin's heads side by side.Leo: This lies a little further on from Gemini and contains a bright star called Regulus.You will note that the three Zodiacal constellations mentioned here lie on an eliptic line 18 degrees wide and known as the Zodiac. Following this line will lead you onto the other signs of the Zodiac.

Step 3: Constellations And Mythology

2008-08-17T05:07:00.001-07:00

A constellation is simply a collection of stars imaginatively linked together to represent a person, animal or object; in this way the heavens are organised into some recognizable form.The Greeks and Romans believed their gods lived in the sky and so people looked for those gods and heroes in the pattern of the stars and found them. In addition many mortals who had done something important got to live there too, as well as creatures and objects associated with their legends. The 12 signs of the Zodiac are also constellations and the word Zodiac is a Greek word meaning 'pertaining to animals'.As a result by locating different constellations in the night sky and often a few of their neighbouring constellations it is possible to retell parts of their associated myths and legends