This is a special bulletin for my loyal, or accidental,
readers. Tuesday night, April 8, 2014,
you have the opportunity to witness an unusual astronomical phenomenon without
aid of telescope. The Red Planet, Mars,
named for the Roman god of War (not the candy bar), will be directly opposite
the Sun making for a rare full-sky transit, much like a full moon, only
smaller; much, much smaller.
What this means, if such things interest you, is that you
can watch Mars cross the sky from east at sunset to west at the following
morning’s sunrise. This occurs only once
every two years. And this year, it
happens to coincide with the Red Planet being closest to the Earth since 2007. While I doubt there is any merit to spending
the entire night looking up, it is worth a few moments to take a break from
your usual Tuesday night regimen to go outside and give it a peek.
Mars will be easy to find.
It is red. “Aha,” you are saying
to yourself, “now I know why they call it “The Red Planet! Thanks, Dale.” It will be brighter than all but the
brightest background stars. Where you
look is dependant of when you look. The
earlier viewers will want to look to the east (that’s opposite from the side of
the sky you last noticed the Sun to occupy).
You barflies will want to look west, before you get into your cab, for
the ride home. If you are out about midnight, look straight up, then remember
to schedule an appointment with your chiropractor in the morning.
I, of course, will be enjoying the view through my
telescope. Yes, I’m enough of a nerd to own a telescope. It is small (no double entendre here, although
I sometimes do feel slightly inadequate) but will give me a closer look. If any of you can find my house in the dark,
you are more than welcome to take a peek.
Warning, I will not be up and planet gazing at two o’clock in the
morning, so save yourself the extra cab fare to Valley Center and just go home.
That’s it from the Obsequious News Service! Good night.
Be sure to look for my regular blog post this Thursday. If you liked this one, you’ll be thoroughly
confused by the next.
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