Mercury !!

 

My obsession with watching planets is evident to my family. Even while they are cozied up in their blanket I tend to beckon them to come outside and watch the “ once in a lifetime “ view of planetary show in the skies! Sometimes they oblige, other times they completely disregard. This week was another such week!

Sunday morning I was up before 5 am, likely my jet lag after the recent return from Europe. Just before I could turn the lights on in the living room I caught a glimpse of a brightly shining Venus through the window pane near the ceiling. It was an open invitation to go out and look at the show! Little was I aware that it wasn’t just Venus dancing out there. They had a big party. There was the waning moon, and below it Jupiter, and then below was Venus. These were glaring at me even without my glasses. Somewhat dimmer but nevertheless visible to the naked eyes was the Big Dipper or Saptarshi. 

I thought I was also seeing the Pleiades cluster of stars ( in Taurus constellation) to the left and above the Big Dipper . This is known as The Seven Sisters and is used as their icon by the Japanese automaker Subaru! It was very faint. I looked up my Night Sky app on the phone and yes of course! Pleiades it was ! And just below it was Uranus. And while watching these I also noticed a few meteors pacing around, part of the Perseid meteor shower!

The app directed me to also find the glimmering point westward that was Neptune and Saturn overlapping each other!

 Supposedly Mercury was also somewhere near the Eastern horizon but I couldn’t see it. Mercury has to date been elusive to my eyes. It is the innermost planet close to the sun and also the smallest in our solar system. This makes it very difficult to view because more often than not, the light at dawn or dusk tends to obscure its view. And then of course the sky conditions! Clouds, rain, mountains and what not! Every attempt in the past has been very disappointing. 

For next 3-4 days I was waking up early to go catch a glimpse of this planetary parade. The moon was progressively waning and falling behind Jupiter and Venus in position. This morning when I stepped out Venus and Jupiter were right there like I had anticipated. But I couldn’t see the moon. Was it New Moon day already? I moved across the yard, more towards the North. And there it was! The thinnest of crescents hanging much lower, close to the horizon. My phone app indicated Mercury was just to its right( South)and slightly below. I had my glasses on and stared into that portion of the sky where I was supposed to see it. I moved left and then right and I stared again. Thus went on for more than 15 minutes! And then …. at last…..there it was! A tiny speck of light glancing from between two trees in my neighbor’s backyard! Unmistakable!  First time in my life I was seeing Mercury! I stared and I stared and I stared as if trying to lock it into my memory. It was a dream come true! One elusive planet missing thus far I had finally seen with my eyes. Without a telescope! 

I knew it was going to be a lovely day! 

Saree is a soft cotton with Jamdani motifs from West Bengal.