Triple Planetary Conjunction

"Starting" December 6th and "ending" December 13th, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars pass closely to each other in the eastern, pre-dawn sky.

So, of course, I got up this morning to see it. AOL said the best time to see the planets was 45 minutes before sunrise, and according to Weather.com, sunrise was at 7:38 AM, so I got up around 6:40ish. I saw the conjunction, but at first, I wasn't sure that it was the conjunction because Mars kept winking (so I thought it was a star) and I couldn't see Mercury. So I thought maybe it was stars just haning out in the pre-sawn sky. BUT, I found a picture of the conjunction online, and it was what I saw. So, yay, I didn't get up before dawn for nothing :) I tried to include the picture, but sorry, no go on that one. Just imagine bright stars that form a tiny triangle to the left of sunrise. The brightest and left most intersection is Jupiter, white... the top of the triangle is Mars, cream, not as white and winking. Mercury, the least bright, sinking into the sunrise and barely visible. Also according to AOL News, these plants have not been this close since 1925 and will not be again until 2053.

Now, let me just say that as an astronomical event, this one wasn't too stunning. I mean, intelectually, I understand why it's scientifically significant, but visually, not really so impressive. I wasn't even sure that it was what I was seeing, I thought I was seeing stars and turning them into plants because that's what I wanted to see.

I saw the conjuction between the Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon in June 1991, and as both a scientific and visual event, that was much, MUCH more impressive. All the bodies were easier to see AND it was an event that only happens about once every 600 years. PLUS, it was an event that happened in the western, post-sunset sky, so there was no getting up involved. I remember seeing it with my Gran and reading about it in the news paper. Good times.

And that's it for now. Much love...