Workin' on our night moves in the summertime
In the sweet summertime (Bob Seger, songwriter, 1976)
It has been a great week to be outside in the early evening dusk.
Okay, so it's also been very hot from triple-digit days and not much cooling at night. And, due to subtropical humidity, the air makes you feel like you've been wrapped in a blanket, a warm soggy one.
But I gotta say the low clouds helped to create spectacular sunsets and the evening sky has been ablaze with color.
June 27, 2015 Saturday, 8:42 pm - 8:45 pm
And if sunsets weren't great enough we're also in the midst of a Celestial Event! A grand convergence of two planets, Venus-Jupiter Conjunction, two planets currently so close together and aligned they look like they could collide. Or kiss.
June 30, 2015 Tuesday, 9:02 pm - 9:06 pm
But wait, there's more. It happened by accident a week ago. Jerry and Z were over for Redbox movie night ("American Sniper") after a failed attempt to see Jurassic World at the local theater for $6 Tuesday. Apparently our North County neighbors also had the same idea and the lobby was packed with people and we were all standing in one long line that went out the door. (At least we stood in A/C Wonderland.) The Man has zero tolerance for crowds (and crowded movie theaters) and I could see him starting to fidget. When Jerry and Z showed up it didn't take much coaxing to relocate movie night to our house ("Hey guys, I made homemade vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookies mixed in. Want to come over to our house?")
So, anyway, the guys watched the movie while I puttered amongst my crafting and in between I poured drinks (root beer and wine), passed out popcorn with mochi crunch, and dished out ono-licious ice cream.
Before Jerry and Z took off we stood outside in the driveway and admired the Vista view of the night sky. Brian pointed out Scorpio and I found the Big Dipper. We spotted a couple of man-made satellites moving across the sky. My attention was elsewhere when the guys spotted a star getting brighter and brighter and then blink out. It unnerved The Man, he couldn't figure out what it was or what just happened. I think it creeped him out.
A few days later he sent an email to Jan (which I've ganked here):
Mystery in the Sky - Solved!
The other night when Jerry and Z were at our house (for “Movie Night") we saw a very unusual sight in the night time sky. Turns out what we saw was an “Iridium Flare”. It’s caused by the sun reflecting off a satellite antenna. If the Z man wants more information he can check out:
Reflections from Space: Spot Iridium Flares
Amazingly, these things are predictable. Once I figure out how to do that I’ll have Z up here for a viewing. Pretty amazing.
Reflections from Space: Spot Iridium Flares
Amazingly, these things are predictable. Once I figure out how to do that I’ll have Z up here for a viewing. Pretty amazing.
Cool Beans! The night sky is awesomely amazing.
