Observing Notes 7/20/93

Observing Notes 7/20/93

for Mark

the lake shimmers

orange and brilliant black

this sundown

cloud cover rolls east

tearing open the sky—

a few bright stars

clear

in the west

small clouds hug the

horizon like mountains

pointing out the sky

Jupiter Mars

Antares

firefly

waiting to view Jupiter's four moons all lined up

no one

can point to

the new moon

below the stars

lake glow and 

city shine

cricket crossing

neon constellations

on the observatory sign

by Sarah Fairchild July 20, 1993

~ ~ ~

Notes:

→ This must have been written on Tuesday, July 20th, 1993, three days following the observing session on the previous Saturday evening at Hyde Observatory at Holmes Lake. This is obviously about Sarah visiting Hyde Observatory, most likely while I was volunteering there on July 17th.  These, then, were images, reveries, and memories that stuck with her for three days.

 the Moon was not "New" for another day or so, and would have set about 20 minutes before the observatory even opened; Jupiter would have been visible in the west; Mars, much lower in the sky and very near the horizon, would have set about an hour after sunset; and the Perseid Meteor Shower would have been underway, but not yet peaking, I love her insights, her point of view, concerning that evening!