Gordie 21 going with my gut

[DnJ]

Yes the Perseid meteor shower on Saturday and Sunday. Nice thin moon and dark skies. I hope the smoke from the forest fires does not occlude too much starlight here.

D16 is going to a party on Saturday. I will be star gazing from midnight till I pick her up around 2:00am, smoke permitting. It would be great to have you guys and gals over. All sitting on the deck enjoying a drink and gazing to the night sky, slowly shrinking into insignificance while contemplating the unfathomable vastness and beauty that surround us.

I find much peace from that perspective. In awe of the universe, most apt.

Here is something for you, well all of you.

I am sure you can find Venus, and you know Mars. Next find Jupiter and maybe even Saturn. The rest are very difficult, some impossible to see with unaided eye. Mercury for example, that sun hugger, is so over powered by the Sun, hard to find.

If you connect the planets with an arc across the sky. That is the plane of our solar system. The edge of our flat disc.

Point an arm at the far left planet and arc it across the sky connecting the other planets you have found and continue around in the same sweep through the earth back to the start. That is where the solar system disc cuts through earth, not the way you probably expect.

The planets all follow along that arc. The stars, and the rest of the universe (aside from rogue comets, meteors, and such), follow circles around Polaris (North Star) for the northern hemisphere.

Of course planets do not travel across our sky and stars do not travel in circles. Our view of the universe is not “reality”, it is not even the same for everyone. It is our perception of the universe based on the earth’s rotation and ones location.

Something magical in realizing the reality beyond perception.


There is also a magic in realizing the reality your spouse perceives is different than your own. Everyone sees things a little differently, for some a lot differently. Looking beyond your perceptions in an attempt to see the truth puts one in awe of their own reality.

Magical.