01 Jul Look Up: A Simple Lesson In Astronomy

Did anybody catch a glimpse of the Super-Star on June 30th? For us homeschoolers, this is a teaching moment; a simple lesson in astronomy.

According to astronomers, the planets Venus and Jupiter passed so dramatically close to each other in the sky that they appeared to the naked eye to be one celestial body, or as a “Super-Star.”  Some have even theorized that this is the “Star of Bethlehem” that was seen over 2000 years ago on the night of Jesus’ birth.  Apparently these two planets, the two brightest objects in the sky (besides the Sun and Moon, of course), have not been in this close proximity since that time so many years ago.

We Missed the Best Viewing Time, But we Didn’t Miss Viewing!

The prime night to witness this event was June 30th. At that time, our western skies were covered in a thick blanket of clouds.  Clark and Luci woke in the morning, quite upset that I had not awoken them as we had planned. I promised we would try again.

Thankfully, the second night, July 1st the sky was clear.  The children had already crashed in their beds, so I woke them up shortly after 9pm and we snuck outside to see the planets.  We had recently finished studying them, so they were both very familiar with Venus and Jupiter and were so excited to see them!

There was a little competition for the planets in the form of a little rabbit that was hanging out in our yard.  So we took turns, sharing the binoculars and watching the little rabbit, trying not to scare it.

The planets had moved further apart and did not appear like one Super-Star, but they were still very bright. Clark and Luci were fascinated.  We talked about how the planets appeared to  be close together, but how Venus is actually 58 million miles from Earth. Jupiter is 565 million miles from us.  We can’t even begin to understand those numbers…

“Just One More Minute!”

As I watched the children play in the dimming light, I remembered my childhood.  Clark and Luci were playing “Tag” or some version of it.  They were running from each other, their delighted squeals piercing the quiet evening.  Every couple of minutes they would stop beside me and beg to stay up. “Just one more minute” they’d plead, and I’d agree, “Just one!”

I remembered doing the exact same thing.  There was something about the air just after dusk… a quiet feeling of contentment as  my parents sat on the porch.  My brothers and sisters were still playing in the yard, trying to pack in “just one more minute” of play while wondering just how much longer they were going to be allowed to stay up.

Astronomy Brings Perspective

It all brings some perspective.  The Earth keeps turning, lives are played out under this enormous expanse of sky.  While I may be only a very small part of this universe, I wonder and hope that in some small way my purpose can shine as those planets do…