Words of Mercury not so harsh

[pameladean]

Eric had emailed me yesterday to suggest that if it was clear at sunset, I look for Venus, because Mercury would be visible nearby. It was not clear yesterday, and I had forgotten all about it by this afternoon. I had also forgotten to charge my cellphone overnight, so it wasn't with me. Eric texted me twice and then called, after which I threw on some random warm things and ran outside. I was distracted by having been trying, all day, to get a critical conversation in a short story I'm trying to finish to come into focus, so I went absently over to 37th, where there is a goodish view of the eastern sky. It was a gorgeous twilight, clear except for a fading contrail or two, the sky all shades of blue and blue-gray with a stain of yellow deepening to orange and then red in the west -- oh. The WEST. I went back around to the best intersection for seeing the western sky. Venus was very bright just above the low roof of an apartment building. I wished I'd brought my cellphone so that I could look on Google Sky Map for which side of Venus Mercury was on; I wished I had grabbed the binoculars as I ran out of the front door. But as the traffic rushed by and the lights changed and changed again, a foggy dot emerged not far from Venus at a little past three o'clock. I was never quite able to see it clearly except with averted vision before it set behind the apartment building. My feet were getting cold -- I had not bothered to put my boots on -- and the melted snow was freezing back to the pavement. And it's a bit of a hike to the next place where one can see more of the eastern horizon; so I came home. But I'm extremely pleased.

Pamela

Comments

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

How exciting! And how beautifully described.

[pameladean]

Thank you! Mercury is so elusive, any sighting of it seems like a triumph.

P.

[arkuat]

Beautiful indeed. Thank you for posting this.

[pameladean]

My very great pleasure. Thank you for reminding me that Mercury was up.

P.

[mle292.livejournal.com]

Lovely stuff there! It's so nice to be outdoors, especially now that it's getting a little more pleasant outside.

[pameladean]

Yes, it's just a huge pleasure to not instantly start to freeze solid when one puts one's nose outside. And I am SO grateful for the clear skies. The overcast during December was dreadful.

P.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHA! Good for you.

In the center of Philly I count it a good day when I can see the moon.

[pameladean]

Philly has far more people than Minneapolis, and may be denser in its densest parts. We are only a few miles from downtown, but it's enough to make a difference. I can't see the Milky Way from the city, though, alas.

P.

[quility.livejournal.com]

How wonderful!
i marveled at the sunset today on my ride how and alternated btw being overwhelmed by the beauty and wishing i had someone to share it with. I had a perfect view of the mpls skyline

[quility.livejournal.com]

Argh hit post before done.

The skyline with this beautiful pink to blue scale behind it and a bright star (planet?) above. Like a postcard.
Hearing your story makes me feel like i was not alone. Thank you :)

[pameladean]

Oh, I love the skyline at sunset. That bright planet was Venus, so we were looking at the same planet, and I'm very glad you were there too.

P.

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

This is a great month for planets! I saw Saturn as I left the house pre-dawn, and I have a note to make sure to look for Mars later next week as it should be really easy to spot near the moon in early evening.

[pameladean]

Yes, Saturn is really lovely right now. And thanks for the tip on Mars. I always like a glimpse of Mars.

P.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Wow, how absolutely wonderful. It seems so appropriate that we can only ever see Mercury (and I say "we," but I've never actually managed it) in the tides of sunrise or sunset--because it really does *live* in the sun's wake that way. Lucky you!

[pameladean]

Oh, "tides of sunrise or sunset" belongs in a poem. Yes, if you read the little bits of advice to amateur astronomers scattered about, they are always saying that Mercury "follows the sun," which is another grand phrase.

I think there are several more Mercury opportunities yet this week. A dark sky really isn't necessary (per Eric, to whom I owe all my Mercury sightings but one) because of the brightness of the sunset; you mostly need a clear western horizon and some idea of where to look. Mercury isn't very bright compared to Venus, but since it's a planet, it's still going to show up before any stars in that part of the sky.

P.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

This evening I was leaving a building just at sunset, and I thought of what you said, and I was even facing west, I believe, but maybe the clouds were a little low, or maybe it was just a tinge too early for the planets to show themselves. I'll look again tomorrow.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

That sounds so lovely! But what really got me was "brought my cellphone so that I could look on Google Sky Map"--one of those 'we live in the future' dings went off in my head.

[pameladean]

I love Google Sky Map to pieces. It resigned me to my smartphone.

P.

[jiawen]

You're one planet up on me! :)

And it sounds like Venus was in the Belt of Venus. Appropriate!

[pameladean]

Oh, another grand phrase. Yes, it was, though the belt was almost gone when Mercury finally deigned to appear.

P.

[thinkum]

Sounds lovely, albeit chilly. :-)

[pameladean]

Hahaha, compared to the last week, it was practically tropical! I could have had some good stargazing if I'd been willing to stand around in below-zero air, but sadly, I wasn't.

P.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I was thrown off for a moment by "three o'clock." It sounded as though you had to wait for a VERY LONG TIME. Then I realized you meant direction :-)

[pameladean]

8-) Eric was confused when I told him that too, but I have more trouble with left and right or cardinal directions when excited, so the clock face is safer for me.

I've waited quite a long time to see just one more meteor in a shower, but that would be a seriously long time to wait for a planet, you bet.

P.

[cat-sanctuary.livejournal.com]

This reminded me of how much I liked Gentian...