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Orion - π 2 / 4 Mystery Cache

Hidden : 11/12/2014
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


This cache is part of a 2 stage series of caches that make up a star constellation called Orion. The first part consists of 10 caches of various types, as does this second part. (20 caches all up) There are two “final” caches, one for each series, which will require you to find a number of other caches in the series to complete the whole constellation. Most caches will be quite easy to find, no tricky hides – just something to have some fun out there :-)


 

This Cache

 

While GZ is in the place of the star π 2, the location on the map depicts where the star π 4 would be. To find GZ, you will need to do a little research on celestial navigation. Drawing a line through Orion's belt, you will come across two brighter stars, one on each side of the belt. One of these is in the constellation of Taurus, the other in the constellation of Canis Major, the greater dog.

Taking the names of these two stars and using the place values of their individual letters, you are looking for the place value of the following letters in the star with the longer name for the South coordinates as follows:

S 34°5A.BCD   where   A=a (the second one of its kind in this name), B=l, C=r, D=b

(Example: in the name Taurus t would be = 1, a would = 2, u would = 3 etc.)

For the East coordinates use the star with the shorter name; the coordinates are as follows:

E 117°58.0EF   where   E=s and F=r

Hope you enjoy the little challenge! smiley


 

Background information on Orion


The star constellation we are putting on the Albany map is called Orion and has its first mention (that we know of) in the Old Testament of the Bible. It appears in many myths around the world and as with many other stars and constellations, many a seafarer would have known and used these stars for navigational purposes before GPSs were invented. In the southern hemisphere Orion is most visible in the evening from November to March rising in the east and setting in the north-western sky. Whilst when in the northern hemisphere the hunter stands firmly on his feet, here in the south he is seen to do a "head stand", so if you are looking for him in the night sky, be aware of his acrobatics ;-)
The constellation consists of 7 major stars (8 named stars) and numerous minor stars and nebulae. For the purpose of this series I have used 20 stars / nebulae out of the constellation. The stars in the first series can all be spotted quite easily with the naked eye on a clear night (particularly in Albany, with little light pollution) while the stars in the second series are harder to spot, as most of them appear much fainter in the sky. If you are interested in more info on the various stars, navigation, history and mythology check out any of the first 10 Orion caches, which have links on them to some interesting sites.



History of the cache series

 

Pictionary, Astronomy and Geocaching – how it all worked together.
Well, you may wonder, how do you get from Astronomy and Geocaching to Pictionary? It went like this: We had put out three caches in aid of TangowithCupcake's ABCD Challenge and when they appeared on the Geocaching map as pretty little stars (our caches) my Pictionary instinct kicked in and I knew: this was Orion's belt! It took a couple of years and some work to put it all together, but here it is; hope you enjoy!
Having a (seafarer) dad who taught me about stars from an early age, I am dedicating this series to him – Thanks Dad for all you taught us :-)

 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

zntargvp gva [Spoiler] uggc://jjj.fbhyrqbhg.bet/avtugfxl/bevbanivtngvba/bevbanivtngvba.ugzy uggc://nfgebobo.nernibvprf.pbz/2010/12/16/sbyybj-bevbaf-oryg-gb-cnegf-haxabja/

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)