Halloween “Viewing”

In between the costumes, parties, trick-or-treating, harvest festivals, bobbing for apples, etc., this Halloween you might want to pay a little attention to the skies because a rare treat is in store. Both Mars and Venus should be spectacular for viewing on Halloween, so if you are lucky enough to have clear skies, gaze up into the heavens and check out our neighbors in the solar system.

Turn your gaze to the western sky about 30 minutes after sunset and check out Venus (for those of you who are directionally challenged - just gaze toward the sky in the direction that the sun set). The absence of the moon will allow Venus to show up as bright yellow.

Now, do an about-face and check out the other side of the sky for a view of Mars. Mars will be lit up unusually brightly at this time due to its “closeness” to earth. It will appear yellow, perhaps with an orange tinge, and through a telescope it will have a ruddy appearance and features of the planet will be visible. Mars will be visible all of Halloween night.

While you are turning your gaze to the sky, don’t forget to check out Pleiades, a cluster of stars you will see near Mars. Pleiades reaches its peak in the sky at midnight on Halloween.

So grab a chair and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and enjoy the show in the Halloween sky.

Fall

Changing of the seasons into fall is an emotional time for me. I’m not sure what it is exactly, the change in the air, the turning of the leaves, the days getting shorter, the approaching holidays, etc. We have a lot of family birthdays and family deaths in the fall. I have also suffered very some serious illnesses in the fall, as have several of my family members. There isn’t really any other change of season that brings such a bag of mixed emotions as the fall. I love each season for its unique qualities and the different activities, clothing, and weather — and the fall isn’t any different — but it just seems like there are more emotions tied up with this time of year for me than any other.

I have started working on some quilting projects again that were put away due to the summer heat, I’m getting out some recipes for baking, and I’m starting to think about holiday preparation. It’s bizarre because temperatures haven’t changed much from the summer yet, but it is like an internal clock that directs me to feel the change. And while the temperature hasn’t changed, the air is definitely different. There is something very different about the smell in the air and the sun doesn’t feel nearly as strong.

When I go outside to get the morning paper, a single inhalation of the fall air transports me in time right back to my childhood when I would be going off to school at that time of morning. With the change of seasons comes a change in focus, a change in activities, a whole different perspective.

With all of the tragedy and disasters in the news right now, there is a level of comfort in the constancy of the change of seasons, the familiarity that each change brings, and the continued hope for each new day.