A little batch of moisture rolls up from the Gulf over some fairly cold air and Virginia, mostly the eastern half, has an ice storm. Schools are closed and the world, while only showing a hint of the white a true "snow day" would require, is quite slippery. The precipitation has stopped by mid-morning with clearing in the forecast, the day already lightening as the little system moves through and off the coast, perfectly timed to shut down schools for humpday.
Today on Earth the birds are the show at the tirehouse, a mix of goldfinches and juncos(lgb's: little grey birds) on the ground with the woodpeckers, nuthatches and titmice on the feeders and suet, flitting and flocking looking for the seed I just tossed out on the ice frosted ground. Any movement they detect from behind the glass at the tirehouse sends them exploding up into the trees around the house but they don't go far. The handout I offer makes this a popular place for the local feathered crowd and in return for my generosity I am rewarded with the show that is their antics; bickering, always feisty, looking for the best perch, squabbling and tweeting (the original tweeting) over ground position and the best seeds. Cheap entertainment on a day best spent inside by humans.
While called "Today On Earth" this blog has been far from that, maybe "seasonally on Earth" or "at scattered intervals on Earth" would be more correct because it is unlikely for the time being that it will be daily. Still, the name will remain and I will try and get my two cents out there more often, snow days are always good for that. Perhaps, it will become daily this summer, a goal for this summer's cross country adventure.
Seasonally, the Solstice with its low point of light, is now three and a half weeks past and the longer daylight of spring and summer is slowly building back for those of us huddled on the northern end of this tilted, spinning, revolving globe. With the latest sunrise just 10 days ago the daylight gain is in the evening, pushing the sunset time back by about a minute a day and past 5:30 here at 38 degrees north by the end of January. Today setting at 5:14, Richmond standard time (likely 5:15 here in Louisa).
If weather predictions continue to hold true, as they have for today so far, a clearing sky and glimpse at the sun late today will allow for a chance to see all 5 visible planets on one night. The tour starts with a nice look at Venus and Mercury a little before and certainly just after that 5:15-ish sunset. The two have been doing the planet tango in the southwest for first half of January, less than 1 degree apart from Thursday through Monday past, but now, having drawn so close, begin to pull apart. Mercury, farthest from the sun today from our earth view and half lit in scopes, quickly (it's hard to describe anything about Mercury -except its rotation - and not mix in a quickly)begins to slide away from the brilliant Venus, the tango tease, and is long gone from our view by month's end, slowly twisting between the sun and earth on the 30th headed for a morning showing by February's end. Mars, always lagging behind, has been watching the dance from its position almost stalled in the southwest sky, 10 degrees above the two brighter worlds but still visible an hour after the dazzling planet dancers have exited the stage. Get out at sunset and catch the show.
In outer planet news, the late evening and morning is when their show arrives at the sky theatre. Jupiter rises in the east closer and closer to sunset every day in January headed to opposition February 6th, then directly behind the earth from the sun and rising at sunset as we turn away from our star. In Leo, Jupiter outshines all the bright stars of winter chasing the brilliant points of Taurus, Orion, Gemini and Sirius westward across the winter sky. Saturn, way across the solar system from earth rises in the wee hours of the morning but is fairly high in the southeast as the night sky begins to lighten, pre-dawn. This Friday morning Saturn and the waning crescent moon perform their own little tango; the crescent almost brushing the ringed world. Tomorrow morning sets the stage with the moon hovering above Saturn, ready to move in for the tango! Get up and catch it!! 5 planets, no viewing charge!
It might be cold but our planet is still worth a wander and look, get out and check out your world, today on Earth.
