SLL combs through many periodicals and blogs, looking for interesting things to post. Today was thin pickings. The bloggers didn’t say much that they hadn’t said before. Everybody weighed in with exactly what you would expect them to weigh in with about the vicious shootings in Charleston; the blame being directed towards gun availability, racism, and pharmaceuticals, depending on the blamer’s political bent. The debt situation in Greece meanders towards a resolution, but it’s still unknown, as it has been for months, whether it will be another face-saving, can-kicking con job, or a default and potential Greek exit from the EU. The US government is intervening all over the world and no good will come of it, but it’s gone on for decades and will go on for decades more. President Obama and the Republicans are trying to resurrect the Trade Assistance Act and Trade Promotion Authority, and you’ve got to suspect that the effort will eventually succeed because that’s what their string-pullers want. A few more billion dollars were added to the US debt and a few more to its unfunded liabilities. Candidates campaigned, and the 2016 election is going to be the longest and most tedious in history. The stock market is going to crash, but it did not do so today. The talking heads said their usual—nothing. SLL suspects that underneath this quietude something big lurks, but who knows when it will surface? Enjoy your weekend and Happy Fathers’ Day.
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Rather strange but yesterday I toyed with the satirical idea of what if the media came out and said: “we are sorry, there just is no news to report? We have some old news but no new news has happened”? But these types of events could leave one speechless. (if temporarily)
Something lurks indeed.
Because of a blissful lack of news, SLL may have some free time. The moon, Jupiter and Venus may be visible in the west at sunset. In preparation for you enjoyment, a link is below from spaceweather.com 6/19/15.
SUNSET SKY SHOW: Readers, if you have not been paying attention to the early evening sky, please start. The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are converging in the west for a spectacular side-by-side conjunction. Photographer Cat Connor sends this picture from Mammoth Lakes, California:
“The sight of Venus and Jupiter reflecting in a pond and setting over the Sierra Nevada mountain town of Mammoth Lakes was simply breathtaking,” says Conner. “To take the picture I used a Nikon D700 digital camera. A 20s exposure at ISO 6400 revealed not only the bright planets, but also the starry background.”
Photographers, take note of those settings, because the sunset sky show is going to continue for the rest of the month. On June 19th, the crescent Moon joins Venus and Jupiter, forming a bright isosceles triangle in the sunset sky. One night later, on June 20th, the triangle appears again with shifted vertices. Never has a geometry lesson been so beautiful.
The nights of June 19th and 20th are good nights to look through a telescope. Even a small telescope will show you the fat crescent phase of Venus, the cloudtops and largest moons of Jupiter, and the rugged terrain of Earth’s own Moon. Swing your optics around the triangle for a heavenly tour.
The main event occurs on June 30th. On that night, Venus and Jupiter will be a jaw-dropping 1/3rd of a degree apart–less than the diameter of a full Moon. You’ll be able to hide the pair behind your little pinky finger outstretched at arm’s length. Mark your calendar and enjoy the show!
The picture in the upper left corner of the link below is what I think you should be looking for, and there are other pictures.
http://spaceweathergallery.com/
Cool!
Just saw it above my backyard. Cool!
Now that is great. We are in the Texas hill country and it has been totally clouded over and rainy. Hope to see something by the 30th.