It’s my turn to pull the early shift today, which means I get to see the sun rise this morning.
It also means that I get to see the full moon on its way down the Western sky, a brilliant white orb in a that part of the sky that’s still dark, though the Eastern horizon was on fire.
(Did anyone see the conjunction of the moon and Mars the other night? And could the skies over Los Angeles be any clearer the last few days?)
There isn’t a cloud in the sky, it’s already warming up out there, and the dull roar of the freeway was oddly comforting as I walked my dogs around the dewy grass in the back yard. The birds haven’t even woken up, yet.
And now . . . coffee and toast.
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Yeah Yeah. Brag about your beautiful LA day. Meanwhile, over here in the Land Of Little Opportunity, it’s about…A degree outside. But the sun is shining. Personally, I feel that if it’s going to be this darn cold, we should have some magnificant snow to look at.
Hi Wil – I’ve been reading your blog for the past few months but only now have I registered to comment.
A couple of years ago I made it my mission to watch a sunset – it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t seen one in years. SO glad I did it. It’s the little things, ya know? Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I watched the sun rise… (when I wasn’t driving into it and cursing it the entire time). New mission!
Take Care,
EmRB
Ok, it’s about 10F here right now, 5 inches of snow on the ground so I’ve nothing but seething hate for the lot of ya.
This far north, I’m up before the sun and before long I’ll be going hom eafter sunset. I get my vitamin D from pills 😀
As for mars + moon, APOD has some nice pics daily.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
okay, well, i was about to express my jealousy and complain about the weather here in toronto, but apparently, according to the other comments, i have nothing to complain about…
it’s dull and grey and windy, but there sure as hell isn’t any snow and it’s 7 Celsius, which makes it 44 Fahrenheit.
i will now continue on minding my own business. doo dee doo dee doo…
Nice entry.
No need to kill yourself trying to write epics. These moments are lovely.
And by the way: Google Ads: CatchSpouseCheating.com????
Ugh. That’s lame. AdSense filter updated. Thanks, jwords 🙂
Would have been Moon gazing myself if not for the constant rain.
And the only Mars I’ve seen lately is from Doom 3 – and that mostly from inside Mars City and the Delta Labs. Er,
So it looks like the only Moon I’m going to see in the next few days is the plumbers – when he arrives to fix my sink.
Hey Wil,
This is a bit off topic, but Xeni told me that you might want some more of our cool Star Wars swag we give to celebs like yourself (since you dug the graffiti Vader shi, and I wanted to know where I should send it? Just email me and let me know.
I watched the Moon-Mars conjunction the other day, from San Diego. It was amazing to see them dance around each other in the sky like that. Mars started out nearest the horizon as they rose, and ended up nearest again when they set. Beautiful stuff, the kind of photo someone at NASA with a decent telescope should have been taking for publicity purposes.
The benefits of living in CA. Here, smack dab in the middle of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the U.P.), it’s 32F, and snowing. We got our first big snowstorm of the season last night, which dumped over a foot of snow at my house.
Enjoy the weather Wil.
Last night, as we left rehearsal, the full moon was huge and bright in the crisp November sky. Mars hung just a couple of degrees slightly down and to the right, making for a very lovely show.
I wish I’d had a camera, as it’s been snowing for the past few hours, and I doubt we’ll get a repeat Alaskan evening like yesternight.
It has been wonderful here in South Florida as well, low 70’s night low 80’s day. I have to admit since I moved from the beach 3 years ago I haven’t seen the sunrise. I’m up before the sun(my 2 year old sees to that) but I haven’t thought of driving to the beach to see the sun come up. Definately something to plan. I’m sure my daughter will love to walk the beach in the early morning. I’m already getting excited about it..thanx for the idea!
Wil,
This post struck a chord with me, so out from behind my RSS feed I come.
I’m not a sci-fi fanatic, I’m only a geek wannabe, and I can’t understand the poker craze. Yet, I regularly read and enjoy every single one of your posts.
Your writing style, your personal approach to your topics, and your ability to see the wonder in the little things is unparalleled.
Keep writing.
I shared this moon-moment with my kids. It was nearing my childrens’ bedtime when, as retrieving my hockey gear from the shed, I noticed the moon. The clouds were creamy and swiftly moving past; so swift that it looked as if it was the moon that was gliding across the sky.
I called my kids to stand on the front step with me to see the unusually bright moon and the planet beside. It was my 8 year-old daughter that informed me it was Mars. Much to the chagrin of my 10 year old that considers herself an astronomer.
tell me about it! it’s beautiful. yesterday, i looked out the window at work and saw the moon peeking up behind the mountains. it was enormous and just a few minutes later it had risen up into the sky. i’m glad i caught the moment when i did. today, mount wilson looks so inviting from here and i’m wondering what i’m doing at my desk.
No need to kill yourself trying to write epics. These moments are lovely.
My sentiments exactly! What a beautiful piece of writing. Wil describes two scenes, completely, in just a few sentences each.
I have a question for Wil, how long did it take to write this? It is natural or a lot of work? can anyone be this good eventually?
These things are why I come back here week after week…
JON
It’s funny cause I was cleaning the dishes after dinner and I looked out the window in front of me to see the moon and mars. I was amazed I could see mars so well even through all the city lights. It was surely a beautiful sight. I wish I had a telescope and a ‘burbs property.
Thanks for painting a wonderful sunrise with words for me. I’ll never be awake for one since I’m such a night owl. It sounds very pretty.
Wil,
you are so lucky. It started snowing this morning and hasn’t stopped. Even though it’s just fluffy snow, it’s already winter here. I predict we’ll probably be getting our first snowstorm soon.
Although I didn’t get to see mars with the moon, as nov 15th came with a severe storm for our area while several tornadoes touched down around us, when everything had cleared and it was
1 o’clock in the morning, as I like to go sit on the step and ponder the world all alone at that time sometimes;
I did get to see the most beautiful moon with this enormous ring around it. It truly was an awesome phenomenon and only wish I could have took a pic of it but I was too busy shivering and went in to go to bed.
Wil,
Thanks a bazillion for mentioning the Moon-Mars conjunction! It turned out that I caught it on camera by sheer coincidence:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/takashi/64168282/
If I didn’t happen to read it on your blog, I would have persisted in my thought that it was just an unusually bright star.
beautiful day in pasadena. a friend of mine is in nunavut, where there’s a snowstorm going on and it’s below zero. it made me appreciate the view out the window even more. here’s a nice webcam from mt. wilson to prove to people just how beautiful southern california is: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm
Oh, sounds nice, and the exact opposite of what we may find on the East coast. The setting sun and the rising moon. Ive heard its incredible.