signs in the sky

 

Times have been hard, so it's not surprising, if rather primitive, that we have been gripped by natural phenomena. The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was one such event. It only happens every four centuries or so, and some people believe that this was the Christmas star leading the way to Jerusalem and the birth of the sun. I mean son. Anyway Paula, who studied astronomy in college before getting her PhD in English literature of the middle ages, and I, who only entered the observatory for Chinese classes, went out yesterday to try and see the conjunction that Frank had captured The Day Of. It was the winter solstice, and he was abidin' in the fields with, I guess, his telescope and camera. In Peace Valley, MO, he got the picture above that even shows the three moons. But we in New York were not so fortunate, and Paula and I watched the conjuction streaming on line from Arizona. It was cloudy again when we gave it a shot yesterday, and may be cloudy again tonight. We'll decide in a half hour.  On the solstice in Alabama, Jan was able to see the conjuction peeking through the trees from her front porch (below).