dorsey corcoran.

Currently teaching: Coping With Trauma Through D/S at The Dalton Sanctuary. Astronomy Club Captain CLAIMED BY REGINALD BERRY

[dorseyinthesky]

lorelayingunderthestars​:

PM: No need to worry yourself with that Dorsey. What do you want/need?

PM: What do you mean? It’s starting to snow again, Reg and I need a few things to keep warm. Maybe I could go with you, so I can look at stuff for Valentine’s Day to surprise him with.

[dorseyinthesky]

Observer’s challenge: Moon and morning planets on February 8, 9 and 10

On February 8, 9 and 10, 2021 – if you look east shortly before sunup – you’ll see the old moon going, going, almost gone as it heads into the sunrise glare. New moon will come on February 11. If you’re up for a big challenge, you can use the moon early this week to try finding the three morning planets: Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Fair warning. The planets are easiest to see from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. They’re easier to see on our chart than in the real sky. You’ll need a clear sky, an unobstructed eastern horizon and probably binoculars to tease these worlds out of the glow of morning twilight.

The moon is your ticket to finding these worlds on February 8, 9 and 10. If your sky is clear, and you’re up early, try your luck!

Far and away, Venus is the most brilliant planet of these three planets. In fact, the queen planet Venus beams as third-brightest celestial body in all the heavens, after the sun and moon, respectively. Venus shines some six times brighter than the king planet Jupiter, and 65 times brighter than the ringed planet Saturn. That makes Jupiter nearly 11 times brighter than Saturn. Although the famous planet of the rings ranks as the faintest of the threesome, Saturn is nonetheless respectably bright, shining as brilliantly as a 1st-magnitude star, or one of the brightest stars in Earth’s sky.

On February 8 and 9, the illuminated side of the waning crescent moon points toward the lineup of planets. Look for Venus, the brightest planet, first. Then try for Jupiter below Venus, and Saturn above Venus. The trick is to know when Venus will be climbing above your horizon.

We give you Venus’ approximate rising time for the next several mornings at various latitudes, given an absolutely level horizon:

40 degrees north latitude: Venus rises about 24 minutes before the sun.

Equator (0 degrees latitude): Venus rises about 42 minutes before the sun.

35 degrees south latitude: Venus rises about 56 minutes before the sun.

For more specific info, go to Old Farmer’s Almanac (U.S. and Canada) or TimeandDate (worldwide)

The reason the Southern Hemisphere has the advantage is that – from there – the ecliptic, or pathway of the moon and planets, intersects the horizon at a relatively steep angle on February mornings. On the other hand, on February mornings in the Northern Hemisphere, the ecliptic hits the horizon at a relatively shallow angle. Although the planets’ elongations (angular separations) from the sun are the same in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the shallow tilt of the ecliptic in the Northern Hemisphere keeps these morning planets deeply submerged in glare of morning twilight.

Look at the chart below for Valdivia, Chile (40 degrees south latitude). Valdivia, Chile, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reside on nearly the same meridian of longitude (75 degrees west longitude). Yet, Philadelphia at 40 degrees north latitude, is about as far north of the equator as Valdivia is south of the equator. Hence, the steepness of the ecliptic in the Valdivia morning sky gives this southern outpost an advantage over Philadelphia. By the way, the featured chart at the top of this post approximates Philadelphia’s morning sky.

Day by day, Venus is now sinking closer to the sunrise. But Jupiter and Saturn are now climbing upward, away from the sunrise. So by the time that March 2021 comes rolling along, when Venus is lost from view, Jupiter and Saturn will be shining brightly in your morning sky.

And, even if you miss the planets on February 8, 9 and 10, the old waning crescent moon should be beautiful to behold on these mornings, with its dark side softly aglow in earthshine.

Bottom line: Try looking for Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus at dawn along with the waning crescent moon February 8, 9 and 10. The planets will be hard to see, but easier from the Southern Hemisphere.

[dorseyinthesky]

REG ✉ DORSEY

Reg: Do you know how much I love you?

Dorsey: Maybe, maybe not.

Dorsey: Does that mean you're going to tell me? 😇

Dorsey: I love you.

[dorseyinthesky]

REG ✉ DORSEY

Reg: I know. You want one?

Dorsey: Yes, Sir. Can we have one?

[dorseyinthesky]

lorelayingunderthestars​:

I’m planning on making another trip off-campus this afternoon should anyone need anything. Just let me know, I’m fine making a few stops.

I might be able to scrape some cash together for a thing or two. 

[dorseyinthesky]

REG ✉ DORSEY

Reg: I know you saw the thing.

Dorsey: 😍😍😍

Dorsey: I've never had a pet before.

[dorseyinthesky]

aaronmosersanchez​:

When I read the ad for this place, I wasn’t expecting to get dropped off in the Florida fucking Welcome Center. I’ve never seen this many self help pamphlets in my life. Aaron, submissive. Now where are the dormitories, before I actually start wondering about the “Power of Letting Go”.

It looks like you’ve already got the help that you were looking for, but I can offer you information on the Astronomy Club and the class that I teach. It’s Recovering From Trauma Through D/s. 

[subdorseyrose]

[dorseyinthesky]

Identify stars in the Winter Circle

The chart above – for January 24, 25 and 26, 2021 – covers more area of sky than we typically look at together. This is the Winter Circle, a large asterism or noticeable pattern of stars, visible in the evening at this time of year.

I advise that when you go outside in the next few nights, you look for the waxing gibbous moon, then notice the stars nearby. The moon is within the Winter Circle stars on these dates. All the stars of the Winter Circle (sometimes called the Winter Hexagon) are first-magnitude stars – that is, among the brightest stars of the night sky – so they should be able to withstand tonight’s drenching moonlight.

The Winter Circle stars don’t form a perfect circle. Try starting at Capella and moving clockwise to Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, and Castor.

From our Northern Hemisphere locations, these same bright stars can be seen before dawn every late summer and early fall. And they can be seen in the evening every winter. Hence the name Winter Circle.

Remember the constellation Orion the Hunter and how to find it? This brilliant constellation makes up the southwest corner of the Winter Circle. And Orion’s bright star Betelgeuse forms an equilateral triangle with the stars Sirius and Procyon, which we in the Northern Hemisphere call the Winter Triangle. You can use Orion as a starting point to find the rest of the Winter Circle stars- consider that your next astronomy challenge.

[dorseyinthesky]

RECOVERING FROM TRAUMA THROUGH D/S {LESSON 1}

[This part is done in private, it’s something he said to his class but did not put on the internet]

I think the best place to start with a class like this is to talk about my own experiences, because otherwise what reason to any of you have to take anything I say seriously? How do I know? When it gets hard, if this class is legitimately something that you or someone you love needs, I want you to remember this. I want you to remember that I know what I’m talking about, this information isn’t coming from nowhere, and I’m here to use my experience to help you guys at any time. You’re all more than welcome to text me at any time, or ask about meeting face to face.

I grew up with a dad that for some reason… just seemed to hate me. I’m not sure why but that’s not the point. He drank a lot, at some point I realized that it was best to be outside and away from him if I saw him drinking. The harder I was to find, the better. I couldn’t hide every time though. When I got home one day, he was waiting for me. My Dom, Reg, heard what was happening, thank fuck he was walking by that day, and he was able to put a stop to things. But not before my dad hit me in the head with a hammer and knocked me out. My dad went to jail. He was taken far away from me, but it took a long time to forget that fear. I still feel it, sometimes, but it was my Dom that was able to help me most. He made sure I went to a psychiatrist (where I found out I am bipolar) and I went to physical therapy, but I had a bond with Reg that I didn’t have with anyone that was being paid to help me. Our relationship and in specific, our D/s relationship saved my life. I won’t say that my lessons aren’t meant to be supplemented with actual professional help, because they definitely are meant to be just one piece of the safety net, but I will say that it is possible to use D/s to help recover from trauma. I’m living proof. My Dom helps me manage the effects of my trauma and bipolar.

The first thing most people think about when they think about trauma is mental trauma- the type that someone might have if they were to suffer through an event that harms their mind. While that is part of what we’re going to talk about, I want to make sure that I mention right away that there is a physical side to it as well. Bondage and position training especially can be very useful for physical therapy purposes. We’re going to talk very briefly about both today and then go into further detail into specifics in later lessons.

Most of us are familiar with the term “PTSD” (or post traumatic stress disorder) as a blanket term for mental anguish caused by trauma, but our knowledge on what trauma can do to a person doesn’t extend much further. We know that it can involve frightening flashbacks and nightmares. But do you have a clear idea of how this unfolds and how it might affect victims over time? If you do, great. If you don’t, you’re going to.

TRAUMA CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR PHASES:

The impact phase encompasses initial reactions such as shock, fear, and guilt.

In the rescue phase, the affected individual begins to come to terms with what has happened.

The intermediate recovery phase is characterized by one’s adjusting to normal life again.

Long-term reconstruction is all about rebuilding and continuing to deal with the aftermath of the trauma.

As the individual passes through these stages, symptoms can come and go. These phases aren’t fixed though, and individuals can pass from one into the other during their recovery journey. When it comes to planning a D/s strategy for recovering from trauma, the first thing to do is to figure out where the person is as far as recovery phases. Not everyone that goes through trauma will end up with PTSD, but it is a good place to begin research.

PEOPLE DEALING WITH TRAUMA MAY EXPERIENCE:

Behavioral: agitation, irritability, hostility, hyper-vigilance, self-destructive behavior, or social isolation

Psychological: flashback, fear, severe anxiety, or mistrust

Mood: loss of interest or pleasure in activities, guilt, or loneliness

Sleep: insomnia or nightmares

Also common: emotional detachment or unwanted thoughts

So the mental factors are pretty obvious at this point, but you’ll see that sleep can be affected too and that’s a good segue to move into the physical. Let’s start with just the sleep part.

A person who is getting too little quality sleep may experience a range of symptoms, including:

fatigue

irritability

mood changes

difficulty focusing and remembering

a reduced sex drive

That’s just the beginning, though. Some people that experience trauma experience something so physical it alters their physical abilities. Trauma is a wide term, it doesn’t just mean someone was abused. Perhaps you’re here because you had a car accident. The physical portion of my class could be useful for anyone that needs physical therapy, for any reason.

YOU CAN USE D/S TO PHYSICALLY:

regain movement

become more flexible

strengthen muscles

strengthen hand-eye coordination

regain cognitive function

focus on motor skill improvement

improve stamina

get used to moving again after periods of being unable to

Remember, we’re using “D/s” as a blanket term to talk about the power exchange between a Dominant and Submissive partner. If you think too hard about it, any physical therapy session looks like a D/s session- with the nurse or doctor ordering their patient through exercise. 

Your first class assignment is to think about and talk about this with your peers. Consider how this might be useful for yourself and those you’re interested in and how you can better develop your relationships with this information.

[dorseyinthesky]

Mercury’s greatest evening elongation January 23-24

Summary: Look for Mercury in the western sky at evening the next couple of days. Mercury will be descending closer to the sun over the next few weeks, becoming less visible because of the sun’s glare.

Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, isn’t hard to see because it’s faint, but because this world is so often lost in the sun’s glare. At present, Mercury is reaching the outer edge of its orbit as seen from Earth, placing Mercury optimally high in the western evening sky. What’s more, Mercury shines more brilliantly than almost any star in the starry sky.

At present, Mercury is nearly five times brighter than the nearby star Fomalhaut, a respectable 1st-magnitude star. Most likely, if you only see one starlike object near the sunset point on the horizon as dusk ebbs into darkness, it’s Mercury. Look westward for Mercury, with either the unaided eye or binoculars, some 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.

Here’s a rough guide to Mercury’s setting time for the next several days (presuming a level horizon):

60 degrees north latitude: Mercury sets 2 hours after sunset

40 degrees north latitude: Mercury sets 1 1/2 hours after sunset

Equator (0 degrees latitude): Mercury sets 1 1/4 hours after sunset

35 degrees south latitude: Mercury sets 1 hour after sunset

We refer you to the diagram below. Mercury first entered the evening sky (at superior conjunction) on December 20, 2020, and will leave the evening sky (at inferior conjunction) on February 8, 2021. Mercury swings to its greatest eastern (evening) elongation – maximum angular distance of 18.6 degrees east of the sun – on January 24, 2021, at 02:00 UTC. At U.S. time zones, that translates to February 23, at 9 p.m EST, 8 p.m. CST, 7 p.m. MST and 6 p.m. PST.

Not to scale. Mercury’s mean distance from the sun is about 0.39 times Earth’s distance from the sun. We’re looking down at the north side of the solar system plane. In this view, Mercury and Earth circle the sun in a counterclockwise direction. Earth and Mercury also rotate counterclockwise on their axes. At its greatest eastern elongation, Mercury is seen in the west after sunset; and at its greatest western elongation, Mercury is seen in the east before sunrise.

No matter where you live worldwide, however, you have to catch Mercury after sundown but before Mercury sets. Mercury will remain 18 degrees east of the sun for about a week, from January 21 to 27. Take advantage of your golden opportunity to view Mercury while the time is at hand!

By the way, Mercury and Fomalhaut are pretty much side by side as viewed from mid-northern latitudes. At more northerly latitudes, Mercury is higher up in the sky than Fomalhaut, and you may not see Fomalhaut at all, even with binoculars. At more southerly latitudes, Fomalhaut is higher up than Mercury, and this star will still be out at southerly latitudes after Mercury has set.

Right now – January 23 and 24, 2021 – presents the best time to view Mercury during its present apparition in the evening sky. Day by day, Mercury will dim bit by bit as it falls sunward throughout the next couple of weeks. By the month’s end, Mercury will still be some 15 degrees east of the sun, yet no brighter than Fomalhaut.

[dorseyinthesky]

The Mythology of Orion

The ancient Greeks saw in the nighttime sky the figure of the great hunter, Orion, from the Greek myth, which bears his name. There are several different stories about the birth of Orion. According to one version of the myth, Orion was the son of a poor shepherd called Hyrieus. Once, Zeus, Hermes, and Poseidon stopped by Hyrieus’ house. Hyrieus was so generous with his guests that he killed the only animal he had - an ox.

Hyrieus was not aware that his guests were gods. The gods wanted to reward Hyrieus’ generosity by granting him a wish. Hyrieus’ biggest desire was to have a child. The gods told him to bury the hide of the bull he had sacrificed to them and to pee on it. After nine months, a boy was born in that place. The child became a very handsome and strong man.

He was such a good hunter that he was hired by the king Oenopion to kill the ferocious beasts that were terrifying the habitants of the island Chios. Happy for his success, Orion said he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the mother of all animals, was not pleased with Orion’s intention.

Then, Gaia set an enormous scorpion on Orion. Orion soon realized that his strength and sword were useless against that mighty beast. He tried to escape, but the scorpion stung him to death. Gaia placed the scorpion in the sky as a constellation to as a reminder to be kind to animals and to respect the environment. She also placed Orion in the stars in front of the scorpion, so that he is being chased forever for not respecting the animals and the environment.

[dorseyinthesky]

subnoahwrightscks​:

So, I got this whole Astronomy club challenge to work on, but it’s kinda boring to do it alone… Does anyone wanna go see some stars tonight? I promise it’ll be fun. There’s a bunch of cool stuff I can share. 

Oh! Let me know if you need any help. Orion is always the first constellation I can find in the night sky, which is why I assigned it first. I put my go-to tricks on how to find it on the post, but I can point out other ways to spot it too. And I can tell you the mythology behind it. I thought about it as an additional post for the club.

[dorseyinthesky]

callmereg​:

Good. I want you to see me. I’m here, always. Yeah? You don’t know how much I love hearing those words. It is, but you’re doing so well. It’s going great. Of course I didn’t expect anything less. You’re always perfection. I love you more. Good. I’m proud of you for working to keep things steady. Remember, it’s not a race Dor. I know you know. You’re a good boy. Well, let’s work on it. We can make a list of all the things you want to do, and we can prioritize together. We’ll set goals, and work towards them. How’s that sound babe?

I’ve always known that you were amazing, Sir, but look at you, babe. You’re so good to me. So good for me. You know me so well. Life is so much easier with you, you know? We can do that. I want to talk about your stuff too. Please. We’re going to do so many great things here, I know it. We have everything we want. Everything we need.

[dorseyinthesky]

callmereg​:

I see you, gorgeous. Posting your Astronomy information. I’m so fuckin’ proud of you, Dor. You’re doing so good. How are you feeling, handsome? Talk to me. 

@dorseyinthesky​

You. I see you too, handsome. Thank you. I’m proud of you too, you know. We’re doing a lot, this is a lot. You’re doing good too, you know. I love you. I’m good for now, Sir, trying to pace myself so I don’t run myself out. I want to do everything, all of the things, right now, though.

[dorseyinthesky]

Orion the Hunter is easy to spot

Tonight – or any winter evening – look for the constellation Orion the Hunter. It’s probably the easiest to pick out of all the constellations in the Northern Hemisphere winter sky (Southern Hemisphere summer sky). It’s identifiable by Orion’s Belt, three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at the mid-section of the Hunter. Pick out any three equally bright stars in a row this evening, and you’ll probably be looking at Orion. Want to be sure? There are two even brighter stars – one reddish and the other blue – on either side of the Belt stars. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, you’ll find Orion in the southeast at early evening and shining high in the south by mid-to-late evening (around 9 to 10 p.m. local time). If you live at temperate latitudes south of the equator, you’ll see Orion high in your northern sky around this hour.

Notice the two brightest stars in Orion, Betelgeuse and Rigel. Rigel’s distance is estimated to be 773 light-years. The distance to Betelgeuse has been harder to determine. It’s currently estimated to be about 724 light-years away, but uncertainties remain.

Your astronomy club challenge for this week is to find Orion in the night sky.

[dorseyinthesky]

Moon, Mars, Uranus January 19, 20, 21

Summary: On the evenings of January 19, 20 and 21, 2021, let the waxing moon show you the red planet Mars. Then – when the moon moves away and you have a dark sky – use Mars to find the distant ice giant planet, Uranus. 

On January 19, 20 and 21, 2021, watch for the waxing moon to sweep near the bright planet Mars and the exceedingly faint planet Uranus. Mars is the fourth planet – and Uranus the seventh planet – outward from our sun. Mars and Uranus appear so close together on the sky’s dome now that – for the coming week or so – you could see them in a single binocular field of view, if the moon weren’t in the way. Mars will pass 1.75 degrees to the north of Uranus on January 21.

The moon will reach its first quarter phase on January 20, at 21:02 UTC. For us in North America, that means the exact moment of first quarter moon comes during our daytime hours on January 20 (4:02 p.m. EST, 3:02 p.m. CST, 2:02 p.m. MST and 1:02 p.m. PST). But guess what? You can still see the moon from North America at this time, because first quarter moons tend to rise around noon and set around midnight. Thus this month’s first quarter moon will be above our North American horizons at the crest of this particular phase. Look for it – pale and dreamlike – against the blue sky. Then look for the moon near Mars when night falls!

Incidentally, the fifth and sixth planets from the sun – Jupiter and Saturn – are also still, officially, in the evening sky. They’re there, but not visible at present, because they sit too close to the afterglow of sunset.

And there’s one more planet you should still be able to see after sunset. And that’s the first planet from the sun, Mercury. Its greatest elongation – or greatest apparent distance from the sun for this evening apparition – will come on January 23-24. Mercury will be reaching the outer edge of its orbit as seen from Earth on January 23-24, 2021, placing Mercury optimally high in the western evening sky. You should be able to see it now, for for a shoert while after sunset. What’s more, Mercury shines more brilliantly than almost any star in the starry sky and nearly 5 times brighter than the nearby star Fomalhaut, a respectable 1st-magnitude star. Most likely, if you only see one starlike object near the sunset point on the horizon as dusk ebbs into darkness, it’s Mercury.

Mars and Uranus in a single binocular field. Now back to Mars and Uranus, which are high in the evening sky when night falls, as seen from around the globe.

The red planet Mars has dimmed over the last few months as Earth has been rushing along ahead of it in our smaller, faster orbit around the sun. But Mars still shines on a par with the sky’s brightest stars. Given clear skies, you should have little trouble viewing Mars as that brilliant ruddy “star” in the moon’s vicinity.

Uranus, on the other hand, is quite faint, well over 150 times fainter than Mars. Uranus is said to be the outermost of the sun’s planets visible with the eye alone. But seeing it with the eye requires a very dark sky, and probably no moon (certainly no nearby moon).

The interesting news is that Mars and Uranus are close together on the sky’s dome, so that – theoretically – you could see Mars and Uranus in a single binocular field of view for the next week or so, if the moon weren’t in the way. Mars will pass 1.75 degrees to the north of Uranus on January 22, 2021, at about 0 hours UTC. For reference, the width of your finger at arm’s length approximates 2 degrees.

Unluckily for us, just as Mars and Uranus are closest, the moon will be nearly on top of them! Bright moonlight will make faint Uranus hard to see, even with an optical aid.

A quarter moon happens whenever the sun-Earth-moon angle makes a right angle in space, with our planet Earth being at the vertex of this right angle.

In fact, if you could look down upon the Earth and moon at the moon’s first quarter phase (eastern quadrature), you’d see the moon, Earth and sun making a 90-degree angle in space, with Earth at the vertex of this right angle, as shown in the diagram above.

Superior planets – planets that revolve around the sun outside of Earth’s orbit – also reach eastern quadrature in Earth’s sky at regular intervals. In next next few weeks, Uranus and then Mars will reach eastern elongation (90 degrees east of the sun) as well. Uranus will be at eastern elongation on January 26, 2021, at 12:48 UTC, and Mars on February 1, 2021, at 10:34 UTC. Once again, if you could look down upon the plane of the solar system, you’d see the superior planet-Earth-sun making a right angle in space, with Earth at the vertex of this right angle.

Bird’s-eye view of a superior planet at quadrature as seen from the north side of the solar system. From this perspective, Earth and Mars orbit the sun counterclockwise, and spin around their rotational axes counterclockwise. When Mars is at quadrature, the sun, Earth, and Mars make a right angle in space, with Earth residing at the vertex of this angle. Because Earth is an inferior planet as seen from Mars, Earth is at or near its greatest elongation from the sun.

Unlike the moon, the superior planets are not half-illuminated at quadrature. That’s because these superior planets are so much farther from Earth than our moon is. As seen through the telescope, Mars shrinks to its smallest phase at or around quadrature. Nonetheless, its disk still appears nearly 89% illuminated by sunshine.

Because Jupiter and Saturn are so distant as compared to the moon and Mars, the telescope always shows Jupiter and Saturn at or very close to 100% illuminated in Earth’s sky. Yet, quadrature presents the best time to view Jupiter’s moons being eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow, or to see Saturn’s shadow angling across Saturn’s rings.

By definition, the moon at its first quarter phase is at east quadrature – 90 degrees east of the sun in ecliptic longitude. Technically, the first quarter moon is a tiny bit more than 50% illuminated at east quadrature, although the lunar disk certainly looks half lit to the eye. Depending on the month, the illuminated portion of first quarter moon can vary from 50.117% to 50.138%, and the time period between dichotomy (exactly half-illuminated) and quadrature can vary anywhere from about 15 to 21 minutes.