Universe Puts On Quite A Spectacle
Through binoculars, the moon looked like anything but a moon. Perhaps a prop in a “Star Trek” adventure, the mysterious planet of beginnings and endings. Perhaps a pingpong ball suspended in the air, a spotlight shining on the tip of it.
Nothing could compete with the double feature in Sunday’s sky: the lunar eclipse and the comet Hale-Bopp. The planet Mars even popped into radiant view above the moon. What a night.
In the evening hours Sunday, we mere humans were treated to a spectacle. The spectacle of the universe. In the Inland Northwest, a welcome sunny day turned into a chilly, clear night. Perfect viewing weather to watch the moon enter the Earth’s shadow. And to watch a comet do arabesques in the sky.
Drivers pulled over to the side of the road to get a calmer look. Families rushed in and out of doors, with binoculars and telescopes in hand, to watch the eclipse wax and wane. They scanned the sky to spot Hale-Bopp, then back to the moon and Mars. Even the stodgy Big Dipper looked proud to be part of the scene.
It was the kind of evening when the imagination took a walkabout. If fairy-tale creatures exist, surely they were dancing in meadows somewhere. Cupid’s arrows no doubt were targeting lovers right and left. The sky scene filled us with longing, but for what? Hard to put into words.
The eclipse is over, but Hale-Bopp will be visible through April. Find it in the northwestern sky and treat yourself to a sight last seen 4,200 years ago, a sight that won’t return for another 2,400 years. Pharaohs ruled when Hale-Bopp first came around; we’ll all be dead - and then some - when it returns again.
If nothing else, the sky show put life into perspective. Gazing into the magical sky, all the cliches clicked in. There is beauty all around us - we just need to open our eyes. We are here on this Earth only a very little while. Don’t take everything so seriously - just the serious stuff.
When Hale-Bopp appeared in the days of Pharaohs, eclipses and comets were seen as portents of bad (or good) things to come. We live in a more scientific time, but it’s fun to imagine that the sky show Sunday - and the warm weather that day which prompted people out of their houses and into yards, parks, the garden sections of hardware stores - are portents of good to come. And a sort of congratulations from the universe.
You survived the winter, and it was a nasty one. Yes, spring finally is here. Easter is on its way. Celebrate, give thanks, and the sky will provide the backdrop.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi/For the editorial board