Generally, I do bestride the narrow world like a Colossus. Which is to say, and I do say this meekly, I do not suffer from a lack of self-aggrandizement.
And to balance the universe, my wife thinks I'm an idiot.
Everything lined up perfectly for me last night: overnight temperature of 36 degrees, the last good night of viewing the Leonid meteor shower before sunrise, and Mercury rising in the East fifteen minutes before sunrise.
I had been planning for the past couple of weeks to spend the night out in the backyard underneath the stars; a clear night confirmed it was the correct choice despite Melissa shaking her head in disbelief as I headed outdoors.
When I first started paying attention to the nighttime skies, it was during Summer. As such, I am more familiar with the prominent constellations from June through August. This would give me a better opportunity to become acquainted with the Fall and Winter skies.
Lying in a sleeping bag by yourself at night takes away a lot of normally open options. Generally, all there is to do is stare at stars, constellations, and the smaller objects that largely go unnoticed. With Enya as a backdrop, that's exactly what I did. I was tired, but afraid to close my eyes for fear that I may miss something. After an hour, I was richly rewarded with a few meteors.
The rest of the night was a fairly peaceful sleep - only waking when my beanie fell off and cold ears woke me up.
At 5:30, I woke up before the first rays came over the horizon. My prize was the peak of the Leonid meteor shower, an annual meteor shower which peaks approximately every 33 years.
Of all meteor showers, I believe this is by far the most famous and has served as the foundation to several different historical contexts.
The jazz standard "Stars Fell on Alabama" is based on the 1833 shower.
While the stars fell on Alabama, a young man in Illinois was asleep when the meteors became visible and recounted this experience during the 1860's:
"One night I was roused from my sleep by a rap at the door and I heard the Deacon's voice exclaiming `Arise, Abraham, the day of judgment has come!' I sprang from my bed and rushed to the window and saw the stars falling in great showers!". "But looking back of them in the heavens I saw all the grand old constellations with which I was so well acquainted, fixed and true in their places. Gentlemen, the world did not come to an end then, nor will the Union now."
It brought a comforting feeling that I was viewing the same thing countless other generations had seen before me.
The last event of the day was searching for Mercury, an elusive planet whose path crossed in front of the sun last week. Legend holds that not even Copernicus ever saw this planet.
Since the moon is almost in its new phase, this morning provided an excellent opportunity to view the planet. However, it rises to only a few degrees above the horizon and must be viewed before the moon sets and the sun rises. This only leaves about 10 minutes to grab binoculars and get a decent view.
After accomplishing everything I set out to do, I was able to take my bedding inside into a warm and comforting home.
