Sunday, November 30, 2008

Holy Night




Fog from the Pacific drifted in about 4 pm, making the splendid conjunction of Venus, Jupiter, and the new moon impossible to see.
No point beachwalking in the fog with a spectacle like that taking place just above the mist, so I drove to up to the mountains, just above the Getty Museum.
Clear sky stretched above the soup bowl of clouds--and the crescent moon below brilliant Venus (-4.3) and more distant Jupiter.
I watched until the crescent turned orange and set behind the hills, pulling the planets after it.
The first day of Advent, of the new year in the Christian calendar...
O holy night! If only the beauty of the heavens could create peace on earth.

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