A back ache awakened me today while it was still dark outside. Somehow, in the blur of my sleepy mind, I recalled having checked the forecast for this morning, to decide if it would be too cloudy for something. Cloudy? Something? The planets! Would it be worth getting up at 5:00 am to look for the alignment of the planets in the pre-dawn sky! (The forecast had predicted 25% cloud cover.)
I checked the clock. 5:00 am. I dressed in the dark (don't want to spoil that night vision), then groped around my back porch for my headlamp that can shine a red-only beam. I put on a sock hat and a thick fleece vest (never know how chilly it might be at 5:00 am). In the darkness, I went outside, averting my gaze from the scattered insecurity lights of neighbors, and walked out toward the paved road. (I was over-dressed for the lovely, 60°F morning.)
Half-way down my driveway, an unseen raccoon growled at me from one of the big maple trees in my front yard. I growled back, and continued to the road. (It must have been that unblinking, red eye staring at him that encouraged the raccoon to concede this particular confrontation.) The sky was mostly clear, in a soft shade of pre-dawn blue. There were patchy areas of barely discernible haze.
This sky map has to show the interior of a spherical dome, so the planets appear on a curve. In reality, they were stretched out along a nearly straight line.
I immediately identified Venus and the fingernail Moon. Jupiter was obvious, but Mars was missing. And I did not have a clear view of the sky where Saturn should have been. Almost directly overhead, the unmistakable, steady light of sun reflecting from the solar panels of the International Space Station slowly cruised from zenith toward the northeast. Looking directly at Venus, I could detect a faint presence where Mercury should be. [Only the planetary alignment, and the exact knowledge of where it should be allowed me to be confident about it.]
Even though Mars and Saturn were missing in action (one behind haze, the other behind towering trees), I wish to thank my back ache for getting me out of bed at the proper time on a stunning, summer morning.
As I type this, I sip on a mug of black coffee, puff a delicious cigar, and squint into the morning sun.
Bob