What a sight to see the moon rise this evening with Mars in a near
occultation. You would think the great obliterator would mute Mars. Not
the case. Mars' bright red disk shown easily as the 2nd brightest object in
the night sky. Peter Santangeli quickly swung James Turley's TV 76 in the
direction of the Moon. I think I was one of the lucky few that was treated
to Moon breaking over the low hills south of the Montebello parking lot.
Mars' red disk was already above the horizon. The moon, to Mars' lower
right, shined brightly, half above the crest of the hills, minimally
obscured by a light cloud that just so happened to be near the horizon at
the time. And a tree's branches on the hilltop partially framing it's left
limb. What a photograph that would have made. I'll not soon forget that
moment. No doubt the best moon rise I have ever seen, ever.
I'm wondering if the Earth's fragile plate tectonics can handle the additive
combination of the Moon and Mars' gravitational alignment pulling just a
little harder tonight. I'll be watching for out of the ordinary earthquake
activity somewhere in the world in the next 24 to 48 hours. Casey