Outdoors: Ernie Cowan Illuminating desert’s night creatures The heat of the late summer evening was still simmering as I gazed into the sky to find Antares, the bright red heart of the constellation Scorpio. Hanging above me at the western edge of the Milky Way, this mythical figure stood out brightly in the inky desert darkness. While I had found the scorpion constellation, I was actually here to find the earthly version as they emerge at night to wander the desert sands in search of food. To help me with my search, I was equipped with an ultraviolet, or blacklight, flashlight that makes these nocturnal creatures stand out distinctly. Did you know that scorpions glow a bright, fluorescent blue-green when illuminated by ultraviolet light? That was something I discovered decades ago when I borrowed a heavy, cumbersome blacklight from my science teacher and took it with me on a camping trip. My goal was to search for gems like calcite, fluorite, agate or a...