Watching the moonbeams as evening drew nigh

[sovay]

I just got back inside from confirming for my father that the candle-bright object so close to the rising copper-red moon is in fact Mars; we're in the wrong hemisphere to witness tonight's occultation, but the visual near-miss should still be impressive enough from this latitude that I plan to go out at half past midnight to look for Mars standing above the moon. It was also impossible not to notice when I stepped out into the street that Jupiter was huge at the end of it and so was nearby Saturn. It turns out we are due for a great conjunction this year, on the winter solstice no less and the closest the two planets have been since 1623. I truly hope not to be in too much despair over the state of the world to enjoy the state of the solar system in December.

[edit 2020-09-06 0:46:00] The ruddy bead of Mars over the moon was distinct and visible to the naked eye, whereas the camera freaked out and gave itself a mild case of moon dogs, but fortunately I was not the camera.

Comments

[sovay]

It was actually more evident two nights later - or now, for that matter - when he stands alone in the heavens.

I have always liked the visible colors of the planets. Saturn right now is very gold.

Astronomy is very comforting. Our concerns only loom large because they are close - but truly, “Space is big. Really, really big.”

Well, they also loom large because they are part of our lives in ways that planets generally, unless something has gone wrong with gravity, are not. But I do find the sky comforting, in the same way I find time and the sea. I like things that I know will outlast me.