Mercurial Moment

The morning of April 25, 2025, the thin, crescent Moon lay within a triangle framed by Venus, Saturn, and Mercury, but I was nearly denied the opportunity to see this event. At first, clouds below the Moon hid Mercury from view. It was a race to see if the clouds would disappear before Mercury wasContinue reading “Mercurial Moment”

Wandering Wonders

The two brightest spots on this photo are Jupiter (lower left of center) and Mars, which is to the right of the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters) near the central image. Jupiter lines up with the upper part of a sideways “V” that marks the head of Taurus, the bull. Like the Pleiades, this is alsoContinue reading “Wandering Wonders”

Day’s End at the Cove

The day began with a vision of a golden moon rising and reflected in a nearby pond, with a parade of planets, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, in the predawn sky. Even shy Neptune reluctantly appeared through the telescope. The day ended with a quiet cruise on Lake Henderson in the soft light of theContinue reading “Day’s End at the Cove”

Planetary Parade

This morning on our walk we saw the above spectacle, a rare alignment of the planets along with the Moon. Next month, Mercury will join the parade as well. Additionally, Neptune, not visible to the eye, lies between Venus and Jupiter. By the weekend Jupiter and Venus will be very close together, and the alignmentContinue reading “Planetary Parade”