Natalia Antonova

It’s official - Russia’s magazine Science and Life (Nauka i Zhizn) has named Orion the prettiest winter constellation, in a move that’s obviously meant to encourage more young people to spring for that telescope and take a look at the night sky.

Many a kid began their days as an amateur astronomer by checking out the Orion Nebula, situated on the belt of the Hunter, as the constellation, which traces its name to Greek mythology, is otherwise known. The Orion Nebula is a good source of knowledge when it comes to discovering how both stars and planets are made - and often referred to as a kind of “celestial cradle” made up of gas and dust. You don’t need an exceptionally expensive telescope or extensive knowledge of the night sky to be able to study the nebula from the privacy of your own backyard.

If Orion is a kid’s best friend, then light pollution is a worse enemy. Living in an urban center, one forgets that stars even exist. Occasionally glimpsing, one can result in a kind of surprise. “What is that thing?” You think. I’m so used to light pollution blotting out the lights above that when I first see a star, I think “UFO.”

In Moscow, the internet makes up for the lack of a proper sky. I read Bad Astronomy and fully intend to at least try to get my kid to do the same when he is old enough. It was Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait who brought to my attention a video of the Russian Soyuz rocket booster (видео не работает) reentering the Earth’s atmosphere recently. This was the rocket that carried Andre Kuipers up to the International Space Station before Christmas.

Andre Kuiper’s story reminded me that, oh my God - Star City is just a few kilometers away from where we live. Once again, living among the concrete and the neon lights makes Star City seem as though it occupies another plane of existence altogether, which is unfortunate, and, thankfully, something that can be fixed.

I sense a field trip in our future.