Planetary Alignment

by
Marsha Robinson
Richard Navarrete
John Gleason
Bruce Jensen
Randy Muller
Jay Reynolds Freeman

19:08:41 PST Marsha Robinson

OK, so what I'm seeing at 7:05 p.m. is Mercury close to the horizon. At 10:00 from it is Jupiter. Then at 11:00 from J is Venus. Then Saturn (twice the distance between J and V) at 10:30 from V. Is this correct?

19:09:42 Richard Navarrete

I got lucky. The overcast was pretty complete around 5:00, by 6:30 it was perfectly clear. I was out front talking to a friend when I noticed Venus shining incredibly bright. There they were in a long line. I pulled Goldie (6" f/8 RV-6) out (how nice to be able to to pull out an eq mounted scope in about 10 seconds ready to go!) and showed my friend Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury. He was quite impressed! The seeing was very steady and I kept pumping up the mag until I was down to a 4.8 Nagler for 250x. Saturn wasn't TAC sharp, but it was pretty good! I hope others were able to enjoy this alignment. Oh, we didn't need the scope for the fifth planet. :-)

20:11:43 John Gleason

I sat in northbound 101 traffic this evening and enjoyed the easy view of the planetary trio in unusually clear sky. I could not help but wonder if any of the other 10,000 commuters going my way noticed the beautiful gathering. Then there was the moon coming up between the clouds as I crossed Barton's dumb bridge. Breathtaking!

22:21:14 Marsha Robinson

It just hit me why I love to see all these planets aligned and visible. I guess it's being like a dog... When I see all the planets, it gives me a warm feeling that the family (the pack) is all together. The vastness of the universe and all its stars tends to make me feel teeny-tiny on an incredibly small speck of a planet. But when I see the rest of the guys on the block, I don't feel so alone. We're all doing our circle dance. ;-)

03 Mar 1999 07:05:02 Bruce Jensen

Yes, it was exquisite - my wife, who doesn't usually get excited about things astronomical, was exuberant over this. As for myself, I've never had a better view of Mercury (I have rarely looked on so clear an evening). Here's hoping for more clear skies this evening.

04 Mar 1999 00:10:17 Randy Muller

Interesting.

I love to see all the planets aligned because it reminds me of the precise workings of a giant, well running machine. I see beauty in the position and brightness similarities and differences. I see regularity and order. Not only is this regularity and order present, but it is emblazoned across the sky at certain times in remarkable ways.

4 Mar 1999 14:45:40 Jay Reynolds Freeman

I love to see all the planets aligned because then it takes less work slewing from one to the next to look at them all.

Hey! All that button-pushing can really wear you out!