Yesterday was a great day for being unemployed (so was the day before, and before that...)
I awoke early on Wed morning (just before 4:30 am) so that I could catch a rare occultation betweeb Venus and the Moon. In case you are wondering, no an occultation isn't some weird initiation into a cult where you shave your head and chant into the night like Peter Boyle as Young Frankenstein's monster, rather it is when one celestial object is obscured by another while they are both in transit (or procession across the night sky). In this case, Venus was to slip behind the moon before peek-a-booing from around the "dark side"...
Well I was given quite the treat when the crescent moon slowly rose from the Eastern horizon with Venus following close by off to the left. Within twenty minutes, the distance between the two narrowed until the planet kissed the edge of the lunar horizon before disappearing for another half hour or so. By the time Venus had emerged from around the moons back side (I have to grin at that one
), the twilight of dawn had just brightened the sky. It was awesome to behold, nothing like a little celestial event to make the cares and worries of the world seem irrelevant, even if it was for just a moment. Here's the pics and I even made and time-lapse animated .gif, so enjoy!
I awoke early on Wed morning (just before 4:30 am) so that I could catch a rare occultation betweeb Venus and the Moon. In case you are wondering, no an occultation isn't some weird initiation into a cult where you shave your head and chant into the night like Peter Boyle as Young Frankenstein's monster, rather it is when one celestial object is obscured by another while they are both in transit (or procession across the night sky). In this case, Venus was to slip behind the moon before peek-a-booing from around the "dark side"...
Well I was given quite the treat when the crescent moon slowly rose from the Eastern horizon with Venus following close by off to the left. Within twenty minutes, the distance between the two narrowed until the planet kissed the edge of the lunar horizon before disappearing for another half hour or so. By the time Venus had emerged from around the moons back side (I have to grin at that one
), the twilight of dawn had just brightened the sky. It was awesome to behold, nothing like a little celestial event to make the cares and worries of the world seem irrelevant, even if it was for just a moment. Here's the pics and I even made and time-lapse animated .gif, so enjoy!VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
As for HST... as I type this lying on my bed, above my head hangs the Rolling Stone magazine from the week he died, resting in a handcrafted frame. I have some affection for the man. Immediately after posting that, I actually went down the street to my (now) local bar, where many, many years ago they held a wake for Dr Thompson months after his death. After downing fourteen or so Wild Turkeys, I approached the open mic & proceeded to tell the audience-- which consisted of yuppies slumming it & broke-ass college kids-- that the Dr would have hated them all, & then went on a lengthy diatribe about how the best way to honor the man's memory was to live up to his questioning & rebellious spirit, not sit in a bar drinking discounted bourbon & glorify substance abuse while listening to jive-ass "free" jazz & watching clips of actors portraying him.
Many drinks were bought for me after I had finished, I was honestly surprised that so many people had such a positive reaction-- including the bandleader whose band I had just called "jive-ass"-- to such a hateful little screed, but I guess I landed it nicely.