A thin crescent moon and Venus made a stunning close pair as I pedaled to work this morning (April 22). Seeing these close conjunctions of the moon with a planet or bright star always gives me a sense of other worldliness or perhaps Earth from a distant time. It's the kind of spectacle that takes us out of our day to day routine and reminds us that we are indeed the third rock from the sun. A close pass (conjunction) of celestial objects is also one of those events that can be enjoyed without the aid of an
astronomy binocular or
telescope, though I can often squeeze both objects into the field of view of a
telescope if they are close enough. This morning, though, I just pedaled due east, into their glow and enjoyed myself, thoroughly. Nothing like arriving at work with a smile on my face.
