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
This is a simple little cache located on a boring road connecting Hassel Hwy and Lower King Rd. It is here solely for the purpose of representing π 1 in the constellation.
As there is not much to write about the stars in the second series (they are all minor stars that haven't been studied much) we thought we'd include some other information about Orion here. Enjoy!
From http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/orion-constellation/
In Greek mythology, the hunter Orion was the most handsome of men. He was the son of the sea god Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. In Homer’s Odyssey, Orion is described as exceptionally tall and armed with an unbreakable bronze club.
In one myth, Orion fell in love with the Pleiades, the seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. He started pursuing them and Zeus scooped them up and placed them in the sky. The Pleiades are represented by the famous star cluster of the same name, located in the constellation Taurus. Orion can still be seen chasing the sisters across the sky at night.
Most [greek] myths about Orion’s death involve a scorpion, but the stories differ from one mythographer to another. In one tale, Orion boasted to the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto that he could kill any beast on earth. The Earth Goddess heard him and sent a scorpion, which stung the giant to death. In another story, he tried to force himself on Artemis and she was the one who sent the scorpion. In yet another account of his death, Orion was stung while trying to save Leto from the scorpion. All myths of Orion’s death share the same outcome: Orion and the scorpion were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so that when the constellation Scorpius rises in the sky, Orion sets below the horizon in the west, fleeing from the scorpion.
Another ancient legend dates back to the second millennium BC. The Hittites (a Bronze Age people of Anatolia, the region comprising most of present-day Turkey) associated the constellation with Aqhat, a famous mythical hunter. The war goddess Anat fell in love with him, but after he refused to lend her his bow, she tried to steal it. However, the man she sent to get the bow messed up the assignment pretty badly, killing Aqhat and dropping the bow into the sea. This is why, according to the myth, the constellation drops below the horizon for two months in the spring.
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 :-)