The Hunt for Mercury

Sometimes it's the looking

My phone beeped. “See the Moon by Mercury tonight?” dad texted.

For someone who bills himself as a specialist, I’m always the last to realize these things. There was that time when my buddy at work, the ultra-cool NYC born former gang member with his impeccable Yankees hat, was all “yeah yeah, I heard about that a bit ago” about the possible life on Venus (phosphine signatures in the clouds) when the news was just dawning on me.

Don’t my nerdy suspenders get me anything? Ha! On one hand: guess that’s on me to sharpen up. On the other: I’m lucky to be surrounded by more observant people!

Grabbing an ATV, I roared up to the back field with it’s Westerly vista. A humid sky looked back, with a toddler moon peeking through a misty veil of purple clouds. The thinnest of crescents cradled a dimly-lit disk - Earthshine, as it’s called. Darkness was settling in across the land. Down at the foot of the mountain, an 18-wheeler shifted gears, heading out of town on Route 24 for a night run to points west.

Behind me, somewhere between the creek and the cattle field, a Whip-poor-Will started up his chant for the evening. Unseen wings of large insects flitted through the lush grass as the Night Shift took over.

I never saw Mercury. I was sure glad I looked, though. The unexpected beauty is always welcome in my book.