My mind seems very oriented towards the stars in recent days, what with todays second UK astronaut Tim Peake (any relation to Mervyn?) taking off for a six month trip up there. Not to mention the imminent arrival of the next instalment of Star Wars. I have to admit feeling a bit giddy with excitement. I might even shell out and go see it. Of course that is if I can be arsed to venture out into the dark. It seems that the more corrosive things are down here the more we look to escaping to space. Its like a far flung northern isle just isn’t far enough any more that we have to look to space to get some peace and distance from the chaos.
But more importantly its the annual star spectacular of the Gemenids Meteor shower that signals Solstice is so very nearly here. The nights are as long as they will ever be and soon it will be getting lighter. Yay!
Its all inspired me to make this little starry bit of lace. I’ve called it Gemenid. It’s a very delicate latticed lace cowl. I think it looks like a meteor shower in the inky purple night sky. Green silk shines with starry silk neps and shooting stars in silk thread against a gossamer web of midnight purple sky. It has a very pretty pico edge and a lace pattern of bursting stars. Super quick to knit and used less than 80m of lace weight yarn. Shown here in hand spun 2 ply lace weight Romney and silk I hand dyed and spun up a few weeks ago. It’s a real doozy to knit in the round on 6mm circular needles.I have written the pattern up and will be publishing it shortly once I can get the photos sorted. Assuming the sun will come out some day soon. I will keep you posted.
In case you are wondering the Gemenid meteor shower is possibly the most reliable spectacular going, running from 4th to 17th December. This year was supposed to a good one as it coincides with a new moon on the 13th and 14th December which means the sky will be dark which will allow even the faintest of shooting stars to stand out against the inky purple night sky. However, we are still waiting a clear enough sky to make it worthwhile to hunker down in the garden in heaps of blankets with a flask of mulled grape juice. It should be wine but we go dry from 1st December until Solstice so no booze till then which might explain the anticipation and rising excitement.
If you want to watch it and are fortunate to have a clear sky, look to Gemini (I start at Orion’s Belt and look up and left a bit) from 9pm onwards (peaking at 2am for those of you that are night people – not me I’m a lark and can’t make it much beyond 10pm before sleepy time). Should not be difficult to spot them.
The source of this spectacular is 3200 Phaethon, whose orbit passes closer to the sun than any other celestial body, hence it being named after the Greek myth of Phaethon (“the shining” or “radiant one”).
Phaethon was a son of Helios (the sun god) and Klymene. Typical of many a young man he wanted a go at driving his dads Chariot (in fact this applies equally to any child and is not gender specific). His dads Chariot was the one that pulls the sun. Dad and mum categorically said no. But Phaethon pestered and moaned and begged and begged and pestered his dad. Helios broke, and handed his son the reigns. It comes as no surprise that Phaethon lost control of the vehicle and the whole shebang ploughed into Africa, setting the earth aflame and scorching the plains of Africa to a desert for ever more. It did not end well for Phaethon. Zeus was so angry about this destruction he struck the boy from the chariot with a thunderbolt. Phaethons flaming body fell down to earth into the waters of the Eridanus river. The image above is by Hendrick Gotzius, his Phaethon is a bit on the very well developed side with the most incredible thighs for a teenager as he goes spirally down to a smoking earth. Incidentally Goltzius also did a rather terrifying Judith with the head of Holofernes, you might like to check it out.
So endeth the lesson.