Midnight Christmas Eve

Since sometime in the late '60's, it's been my personal tradition to be outside at midnight on Christmas... It doesn't matter which midnight, but I usually make both. Tonight was a cold one. The thermometer said 7, (degrees F) and I spent a little time to bundle up a bit. I put on the same brown coat that I've worn for most of the last 30 or so Christmases, buttoned the top button, and lowered the flaps on my even older rabbit fur trooper hat.. I pulled on a pair of yellow work gloves and headed out at about five minutes til midnight.
It WAS cold... a steady wind from the north kept me from looking long in that direction toward the lights of my little Iowa town. I trudged out through the snow to the middle of the empty field East of my house. Broken stalks of cornstubble stuck up out of the snow in neat rows, but there was no dark earth showing tonight... a recent blizzard had left enough snow to make an otherwise even blanket of white. It was a poor night for stargazing.... The entire sky was a featureless light grey, broken only by the broad gibbous moon and Jupiter about a fist width to it's east. A large, faint, grey halo surrounded the moon, with Jupiter about halfway out to the side. Like every other Christmas midnight, Orion would be just west of the meridian above those clouds, but as much as I looked, there was no hint of starlight tonight... Just that wise old moon and Jupiter. The trees on my southern horizon stood out clear and dark against the moonlit cloud cover, and the leafless trees around my house were black paper lace. I turned to look at the town... Sometimes on a Christmas midnight, especially a cloudy one, the streetlights can be a bit decorative. The cold wind burned my face though, and my eyes were tearing up. I turned back south and followed the clearly visible outline of the white ground against the grey sky... It WAS a pretty winter night. I pressed the stem on my Timex Indiglo watch, and the dim blue light showed the minute hand had moved a couple minutes past midnight. It's Christmas! I made my way back to my house, the wind slapping the right side of my face. It was a pretty night, but a COLD one. A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...
Marty

wrote in message
...
Since sometime in the late '60's, it's been my personal tradition to be
outside at midnight on Christmas... It doesn't matter which midnight, but I
usually make both. Tonight was a cold one. The thermometer said 7,
(degrees F) and I spent a little time to bundle up a bit. I put on the same
brown coat that I've worn for most of the last 30 or so Christmases,
buttoned the top button, and lowered the flaps on my even older rabbit fur
trooper hat. I pulled on a pair of yellow work gloves and headed out at
about five minutes til midnight.
It WAS cold... a steady wind from the north kept me from looking long in
that direction toward the lights of my little Iowa town. I trudged out
through the snow to the middle of the empty field East of my house. Broken
stalks of cornstubble stuck up out of the snow in neat rows, but there was
no dark earth showing tonight... a recent blizzard had left enough snow to
make an otherwise even blanket of white. It was a poor night for
stargazing... The entire sky was a featureless light grey, broken only by
the broad gibbous moon and Jupiter about a fist width to it's east. A
large, faint, grey halo surrounded the moon, with Jupiter about halfway out
to the side. Like every other Christmas midnight, Orion would be just west
of the meridian above those clouds, but as much as I looked, there was no
hint of starlight tonight... Just that wise old moon and Jupiter. The
trees on my southern horizon stood out clear and dark against the moonlit
cloud cover, and the leafless trees around my house were black paper lace. I
turned to look at the town... Sometimes on a Christmas midnight, especially
a cloudy one, the streetlights can be a bit decorative. The cold wind
burned my face though, and my eyes were tearing up. I turned back south and
followed the clearly visible outline of the white ground against the grey
sky... It WAS a pretty winter night. I pressed the stem on my Timex
Indiglo watch, and the dim blue light showed the minute hand had moved a
couple minutes past midnight. It's Christmas! I made my way back to my
house, the wind slapping the right side of my face. It was a pretty night,
but a COLD one. A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...
Marty

Bless You

On 12/25/12 12:44 AM, wrote:
Since sometime in the late '60's, it's been my personal tradition to be outside at midnight on Christmas... It doesn't matter which midnight, but I usually make both. Tonight was a cold one. The thermometer said 7, (degrees F) and I spent a little time to bundle up a bit. I put on the same brown coat that I've worn for most of the last 30 or so Christmases, buttoned the top button, and lowered the flaps on my even older rabbit fur trooper hat. I pulled on a pair of yellow work gloves and headed out at about five minutes til midnight.
It WAS cold... a steady wind from the north kept me from looking long in that direction toward the lights of my little Iowa town. I trudged out through the snow to the middle of the empty field East of my house. Broken stalks of cornstubble stuck up out of the snow in neat rows, but there was no dark earth showing tonight... a recent blizzard had left enough snow to make an otherwise even blanket of white. It was a poor night for stargazing... The entire sky was a featureless light grey, broken only by the broad gibbous moon and Jupiter about a fist width to it's east. A large, faint, grey halo surrounded the moon, with Jupiter about halfway out to the side. Like every other Christmas midnight, Orion would be just west of the meridian above those clouds, but as much as I looked, there was no hint of starlight tonight... Just that wise old moon and Jupiter. The trees on my southern horizon stood out clear and dark against the moonlit cloud cover, and the leafless trees aroun
d my house were black paper lace. I turned to look at the town... Sometimes on a Christmas midnight, especially a cloudy one, the streetlights can be a bit decorative. The cold wind burned my face though, and my eyes were tearing up. I turned back south and followed the clearly visible outline of the white ground against the grey sky... It WAS a pretty winter night. I pressed the stem on my Timex Indiglo watch, and the dim blue light showed the minute hand had moved a couple minutes past midnight. It's Christmas! I made my way back to my house, the wind slapping the right side of my face. It was a pretty night, but a COLD one. A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...
Marty


Thank You Marty!
-Sam

On Monday, December 24, 2012 11:44:12 PM UTC-7, wrote:
Since sometime in the late '60's, it's been my personal tradition to be outside at midnight on Christmas... It doesn't matter which midnight, but I usually make both. Tonight was a cold one. The thermometer said 7, (degrees F) and I spent a little time to bundle up a bit. I put on the same brown coat that I've worn for most of the last 30 or so Christmases, buttoned the top button, and lowered the flaps on my even older rabbit fur trooper hat. I pulled on a pair of yellow work gloves and headed out at about five minutes til midnight.

It WAS cold... a steady wind from the north kept me from looking long in that direction toward the lights of my little Iowa town. I trudged out through the snow to the middle of the empty field East of my house. Broken stalks of cornstubble stuck up out of the snow in neat rows, but there was no dark earth showing tonight... a recent blizzard had left enough snow to make an otherwise even blanket of white. It was a poor night for stargazing.... The entire sky was a featureless light grey, broken only by the broad gibbous moon and Jupiter about a fist width to it's east. A large, faint, grey halo surrounded the moon, with Jupiter about halfway out to the side. Like every other Christmas midnight, Orion would be just west of the meridian above those clouds, but as much as I looked, there was no hint of starlight tonight... Just that wise old moon and Jupiter. The trees on my southern horizon stood out clear and dark against the moonlit cloud cover, and the leafless trees around my house were black paper lace. I turned to look at the town... Sometimes on a Christmas midnight, especially a cloudy one, the streetlights can be a bit decorative. The cold wind burned my face though, and my eyes were tearing up. I turned back south and followed the clearly visible outline of the white ground against the grey sky... It WAS a pretty winter night. I pressed the stem on my Timex Indiglo watch, and the dim blue light showed the minute hand had moved a couple minutes past midnight. It's Christmas! I made my way back to my house, the wind slapping the right side of my face. It was a pretty night, but a COLD one. A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

Marty

I've always looked forward to your Christmas night-time walks; they've always improved the season for me... And this one was no exception... THANKS!!!

Jan

Happy Holidays Marty. Kat

I was reasonably confident that I could wander by SAA today or tomorrow and catch another of your annual midnight posts. It's always a pleasure to read them. Thanks, and keep them coming!

I had clouds with some light snowfall last night. This morning I cleared snow from porches, vehicles, and the Colosseum (my open-air observatory). Tonight is likely to be more promising for looking upward. . .

Sketcher,
To Sketch is to See.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! "Cloudy Nights" might get more traffic, but SAA is where my friends are.
Marty

wrote in message
...

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! "Cloudy Nights" might
get more traffic, but SAA is where my friends are.
Marty

================================
A Merry Solstice and a Happy New Perihelion to you too.

-- This message is brought to you from the keyboard of
Lord Androcles, Zeroth Earl of Medway.
When I get my O.B.E. I'll be an earlobe.

I just got back in from my midnight walk on the other side of Christmas... Another COLD one, again at 7 degrees F, (-14 C) but with a few differences.. Tonight, the sky was clear, and appeared much darker, aside from a few clouds low on the Eastern horizon. The moon, just a few days short of full, had scooted a bit East of Jupiter now, and formed a right triangle with bright Jupiter and Aldebaran... the rest of the Hyades were drowned out by moonlight... Only by covering the moon with my hand and working at it a bit, could I make out the glow of the Pleiades. Orion was now presiding over the midnight sky from his spot just West of the meridian, but only the brightest stars were visible due to the nearly full moon. Canis major tagged along behind him, as he has for thousands of years, with Sirius far outshining any other stellar companions, as much due to his distance from the moon as his status as the brightest star. The landscape was a study in snow and moonlight... trees, buildings, and rows of cornstubble stood out clearly and left dark shadows on the white of the snow. In some ways, a very different night than the last... Last night had a muted, subtle beauty, tonight was a bit flashier. They're all beautiful in their own way, and no two are exactly alike.
I hope every one of you had a nice Christmas, and may you all have a Happy New Year!
Marty

On Wednesday, December 26, 2012 1:41:08 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I just got back in from my midnight walk on the other side of Christmas.... Another COLD one, again at 7 degrees F, (-14 C) but with a few differences. Tonight, the sky was clear, and appeared much darker, aside from a few clouds low on the Eastern horizon. The moon, just a few days short of full, had scooted a bit East of Jupiter now, and formed a right triangle with bright Jupiter and Aldebaran... the rest of the Hyades were drowned out by moonlight... Only by covering the moon with my hand and working at it a bit, could I make out the glow of the Pleiades. Orion was now presiding over the midnight sky from his spot just West of the meridian, but only the brightest stars were visible due to the nearly full moon. Canis major tagged along behind him, as he has for thousands of years, with Sirius far outshining any other stellar companions, as much due to his distance from the moon as his status as the brightest star. The landscape was a study in snow and moonlight... trees, buildings, and rows of cornstubble stood out clearly and left dark shadows on the white of the snow. In some ways, a very different night than the last... Last night had a muted, subtle beauty, tonight was a bit flashier. They're all beautiful in their own way, and no two are exactly alike.

I hope every one of you had a nice Christmas, and may you all have a Happy New Year!

Marty

Merry Christmas, Marty and a New Year filled with clear skies.