~ The Hallow Tree ~

What is going on in this scene?
.....This is a nightscape shot, taken atop Mount Scott ...located in the Wichita Mountains. The tree specimens here are Juniper Red Cedar...they can live up to around 500 years. This type of Juniper is often used in bonsai creations. I find these huge trees to be quite remarkable with their roots all entwined throughout the rocks...though dead now... these ancient trees seem to tell a story, and listening...it tells of a long lived existence atop this mountain. of hot summers and cold, windblown winters, of spring rains and cool autumn nights. ....Nights....filled with Stars!
......Just how many nights have these trees held communion with the night sky...the very stars in this picture? Well, more than a few I can only assume.
..... Above these now lifeless trees can be seen a crescent like structure of stars known as.... "The False Comet". though more correctly known as the Scorpius OB1 association.
......Now.....if you look deeper.... focus on the
brightest part of the association ...near the bottom of
this "crescent moon", ...this ....is NGC 6231.
.....NGC 6231 is known affectionately as the Northern Jewel Box. Why? ....well let's face it....NGC 6231 is a bit much to remember!!
This "Jewel Box" is host to a group of very young, bright, blue stars, which are about 2-7 million years old and only 150 light years away. This structure.... is rapidly approaching our solar system ....at 22 kilometers per second!.
.....When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, the False Comet can easily be found with the naked eye... as it shines quite brightly!! ....just look at the bottom of the Milky Way, just above the horizon.... or just follow the "Tail" of the constellation of Scorpio. Just as the tail turns in through the Milky Way...you will find it there. This area ,.is also known as "The Table of Scorpius". Evidently it reminded John Herschel of Table Mountain while he was in South Africa in the 1830's.
.....Step back and look again...a meteor streaks towards the left... across the sky ....seemingly originating from this False Comet!
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