For the past few weeks, the seven other planets of our solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) have been aligning themselves on the same side of the sun. The effect of this is the ability to see all seven of them in the same night sky. From everything I had read, February 28th, would be the night to witness this 'parade of the planets'. Though I did make an effort to witness this event while on Cumberland Island last weekend, the clouds did not cooperate. Tonight, however, is blessed with clear skies.
After getting done with my last conference call for work about 5:30pm, I drove over to the nearby Little Mulberry Park, which is home to the highest point in Gwinnet County. A short walk from my car up the paved trail and then into an open field with a walled stone patio at the top, provided a great spot to witness tonight's astronomical rarity. There were quite a few people here for the event and I chatted with several of them while observing the heavens.
As the sun set in the southwest, I tried my best to locate Saturn and Mercury, which were following close behind, but the sunset was still too bright. Neptune came next, but was too distant to see with the naked eye and residual sunlight. I did try my new binoculars, but no luck. Soon though, the bright shimmer of Venus became quite apparent in the dark blue sky. Directly overhead, mighty Jupiter soon came into view, and a short time later the red shimmer of Mars began it's march across the sky. I searched for Uranus, which should have been slightly ahead of Jupiter, but was unable to locate it.
After about an hour enjoying the spectacle, chatting with fellow astronomy enthusiasts, and just taking in a beautiful evening, I decided to call it a night and head back to the car. I startled a few deer on my way down the path, but they quickly went back to their business. What a wonderful world we live in to be able to witness something like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment