Pssst! You... Yeah, you... are a passenger on a planet... on a blue-green planet... that's orbiting a golden star...

Of course, what astronomers call an orbit is what the rest of us call a year. And right now, in mid-November, we are approaching a special spot in our yearly journey around the Sun. We are approaching the Makahiki--Hawaii's New Year. But why would you want to start a New Year in mid-November?

When you see why, you'll also see what wise old space cadets our ancient Hawaiian ancestors were!

The Makahiki is not about getting drunk the night before we start using a new calendar. It's about renewing ourselves by re-connecting ourselves with our cosmic origins. Speaking of cosmic origins... scientists have discovered that the iron in our blood, the calcium in our bones, the oxygen in our lungs (all of the elements in our bodies, except the hydrogen) were created in the cosmic furnaces that we call stars. Our Hawaiian ancestors had a slightly different take on our cosmic origins. They tell of their people coming to Planet Earth from a star cluster called the Pleiades. ("PLEE-uh-deez") They share this story with the Celts, and with many other cultures.

If you'd like to see what this is all about, you'll want to pretend for just a moment that your people really did come here from the Pleiades. And... doesn't everybody want to go home for the holidays? But how do you go home to a place that's light years away? We can answer this question with a little picture: Visualize our Earth going around and around our Sun. Beyond our orbit are the orbits of Mars, Jupiter, and the other planets. And beyond that are stars in every possible direction... Of course, as we orbit, the star scenery changes. So, by watching the changing star scenery, we can tell where we are in our orbt--we can tell what time of year it is.

In mid-November we orbit through the place where we are closer to the Pleiades than at any other point in our yearly journey around the Sun. This place (which is labeled on our calendars as November 17), offers us a straight shot home. From this place, we can re-connect with our origins, we can re-new ourselves, we can start all over again. At this place--and only at this place--the Sun is on one side of us and the Pleiades is on the opposite side of us. Thanks to this opposition, we see the Sun set in the west at the same time that the Pleiades rise in the east. So, this is the ONLY time in our year when the Pleiades is up all night long. Around May 17 (when we're on the other side of our orbit) the Pleiades is up all day long.)

With the Pleiades visible all night long now, you'll want to find it. So look east in the evening for a star cluster so tiny you can cover it with your pinkie nail if your arm is fully outstretched. This cluster looks like a miniature dipper or a tiny tennis racket.

Tonight, as I gaze at this cluster,
I'll be wishing you a Hau'ole Makahiki Hou--
a Happy Hawaiian New Year!



If you have any questions, drop Harriet an email: harriet@passengerplanet.com

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