Oooooog.

I don’t feel so good. I think I’ve got the beginnings of a sinus infection. I’ve been off all week and could have been decently and appropriately sick, but nooo. I’m getting sick at the beginning of the weekend, but not be sick enough to stay home from work next week.

And tomorrow, we’re supposed to meet David’s parents downtown and go to the Art Institute. Sunday we’re supposed to get together with Steve and go on an early-spring photo safari to the Botanic Gardens again. And I don’t want to stay home anymore.

Bleah.

Earlier tonight, while I was waiting for the teawater to boil, I opened the window and let the cold night air into the kitchen. It smelled so fresh and clean. Then I went and got binoculars and looked at the full moon, which was over on the west side of the house (another clue that it was pretty late). It appeared to be trailing 2 very bright stars – I suppose those are the planets lining up below the moon that were mentioned in an astronomy sidebar I read a while back.

Even with just my dinky little binocs, the craters and other features stood out crisply on the face of the moon. We sometimes talk about getting a good beginners’ telescope and getting into amateur astronomy – I think that would be a fun hobby, mostly because to get any decent night skies free of light pollution, we’d have to travel someplace really cool.

For example, on the first “group” trip to Maui where 7 of us stayed at the penthouse unit at Hale Pau Hana, we noticed a really bright light over the water to the west several nights in a row. Every night, it got brighter and brighter, until finally it was so bright that it practically cast shadows, and it appeared to be very large too. The first time we saw it, we thought it was an airliner with its landing lights on making its final approach. It turns out it was the planet Venus, making its closest approach to Earth in its orbit around the Sun. We’d never have noticed it in Chicago.

Another trip, David and I were staying a couple of nights at Mesa Verde (actually, this was on our honeymoon – we drove around Colorado for a week after the wedding, which was in Boulder at The Alps). The first night, I was awakened by a bright light shining directly in my eyes from outside. I didn’t have my glasses handy, and all I could tell was that it was close to the horizon. I actually went in the bathroom (this was at 4am, if I recall) and put my contacts in to see what the heck it was.

Turns out it was the Pleiades, and they looked a lot like this picture, except a bit smaller and farther away. It was fall, the time of year when they’re the most visible – no wonder ancient peoples had all kinds of myths and beliefs about them. They were spectacular. The next night, we actually set the alarm so David could try to take a picture with the tripod, but there was a bit of cloud cover and they weren’t as clear.

As it happens, we’re headed back to Mesa Verde on the road trip in June, because a lot of the park was closed for the season in September when we were there last. Although the Pleiades won’t be as spectacular, the other stars in the sky (an astonishing sight to a citydweller) will make up for it.

Feh. I’m still not feeling that great. I think one more cup of tea is in order, and then maybe back to bed.

Edited to add: This image from Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Venus, Mercury, and the Pleiades from the Colorado night sky. Yep, that’s the kind of photo I’d like to take on the road trip.