I am neither an astronomer nor an astrologer. I have never possessed binoculars nor a telescope. The only time I have looked through a telescope was in a science museum.
In July when I saw a Face Book post by a friend that year 2020 is special & the night sky is having a fascinating show of celestial travellers, suddenly I remembered that as a kid my second career option when I become an adult was astronomy ( doctor being the first).
This post moved me from reading books in my spare time to searching on Google about stargazing. I found very interesting information.' July 2020 presents all 5 bright solar system planets in the night sky. Catch Jupiter & Saturn at early evening & throughout the night, Mars between midnight & dawn, Venus in the pre-dawn sky, Mercury below Venus & all the while moon is cruising the night sky. Jupiter & Saturn are in "great conjunction" in 2020.
Bright Planet
Any solar system planet that is visible without optical aid & has been watched by our ancestors since time immemorial. They are brighter & tend to shine with steadier light than distant twinkling stars.
Great conjunction
Conjunction is meeting of planets & other objects on the dome of the sky. Great conjunction is meeting of bright Jupiter & golden Saturn. Occurs once in 20yrs. Saturn takes 39yrs to orbit round the sun in full circle & Jupiter takes 12yrs. Every 20 years Jupiter catches up to Saturn as viewed from earth.
Coming home from work I had nothing else on my mind other than stargazing.
Yes, the crescent moon was right up there. Two very bright objects were sitting in a triangle with the moon. That should be Jupiter & Saturn.
Unlike in the past when we enjoyed looking at the sky & registering in mind's eye, now we are programmed to catch anything & everything on camera. I thought first my dinner & then come out to watch & catch the celestial bodies.
The phone battery showed a 10% charge. I managed to take a photo of the crescent moon which rapidly went behind a fast-moving cloud. Anyway, the planets were not going to vanish overnight. This is 2020 July, a special year & they will be there for me tomorrow.
For one whole week it was patient waiting until midnight, waking up before dawn even before the birds but tomorrow never came.
There were fluffy white clouds madly rushing in & leisurely moving out sometimes covering the whole sky, dark grey rain clouds, thunder & lightening & rain but 'Where, Oh where was Jupiter gone. Where, oh where can it be?"
One day I saw the clear sky minus clouds & Venus was right up there a lovely sight but what I caught on my camera looked very pathetic.
Plenty of life's lessons learnt.
Don't say "there is still time" or " maybe next time" because there is also the concept of " it is too late"
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory- Theodor Zeuss Geisel
The best time to plant a tree was 20yrs ago. But the second best time is today- A Chinese proverb.
Kalyani Guruge
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