the dark is coming

Winter is indeed coming. We're still a week from the fall equinox, but it's clear that the days are shortening. Monday when I came out at 6, all I could see was Venus (and the new moon). Today Venus was still there, but so was all of Orion, though Saiph (the lower knee) was faint, Sirius, and a scattering of others.

By the time the bus came, 12 minutes later, most of Orion was too faint to see - Betelgeuse, the red upper shoulder was still visible. So too, of course, was Sirius, and seven other stars between Orion and Venus. By 6:30 only Venus was still bright enough to outshine the dawn, just turning the eastern sky a pale yellow.

Soon, it will still be dark then. And it won't be much longer till it's still dark at 7, when I reach College Park. A little over three months until the winter solstice. The dark is coming.