The Moon Mariner and the Morning Star

Venus (left) and the waning crescent moon (right) as seen from CCSU’s campus, 6:15 AM this morning

Set your alarms for 5:30-6 AM on Sunday, February 27, for a celestial sight of exquisite beauty. The waning crescent moon glides beneath both the brilliant Morning Star, Venus, and the much dimmer Red Planet, Mars. All you need is your eyes, although binoculars will show craters on the moon and the fact that Venus shows its own phases, like a Mini Me Moon.

Such an event is termed a “conjunction,” when two or more objects appear close together in the sky. The term is frequently applied to the moon appearing near a planet, or two planets appearing near each other. Of course, in reality the objects are millions of miles apart – the “alignment” is due to our point of view from Earth.

Such “close approaches” between the crescent moon and Venus (the Morning Star or Evening Star) are quite common. When Venus is visible, the Moon will ominously appear to approach it for several days each month, as a waxing crescent in the case of the Evening Star or waning crescent for the Morning Star. And while Venus can never appear in front of the Moon, the Moon can, up to six times a year, appear to pass directly in front of Venus, called an occultation. While such an event can even be seen during the day with a pair of binoculars, it is far more awe inspiring when viewed against a dark night sky.

Famed fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien included Venus-Moon conjunctions in the earliest versions of his grand mythology of Middle-earth. In The Book of Lost Tales, the Moon Mariner ominously stalks Eärendel, the Morning/Evening Star, a half-Elven Mariner who sailed the heavens in a special ship sparkling with diamond dust. In later versions of the tale, Eärendil (Tolkien loved to tinker with spellings in his invented languages) bore one of the three famed Silmaril jewels, which was responsible for his unworldly apparent brilliance. Fans of the Peter Jackson film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings will recognize the Galadriel’s reference to the Elves’ “most beloved star,” whose light is captured in the phial she gifts to Frodo. Eärendil is also famous in Tolkien’s mythos as the father of Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell.

Take the time to watch the Moon Mariner chasing Eärendil tomorrow morning, and if you feel the urge, shout out “Aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima!” (“Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars!”).

For more information on Tolkien’s use of Venus in his mythology, see this article.

Toss a Coin to Your… Astronomer? Astronomy in ‘The Witcher’

Halley’s Comet as depicted in the Bayeaux Tapestry

In their attempt to flesh out the margins of their created world, Fantasy authors often include aspects of real world astronomy, such as constellations, comets, imaginary moons, and more. On rare occasions, astronomers themselves are included as characters in the tale. One of the most popular fictional Fantasy worlds in current popular culture is that of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Read about some of his uses of astronomy in the following online articles:

“Red Comets and Red Stars”

“Absent-minded Alchemists and Foolish Philosophers”

“A Tale of Tails”

Have you missed our free public planetarium shows?

“Nick,” our planetarium projector

COVID-19 may have curtailed our popular program of free, live planetarium shows, but our staff has been busy creating virtual presentations that you can watch from the comfort of your computer chair. Keep your fingers crossed for a continued reduction in the number of cases in Connecticut and a return to our ability to invite you into our “livingroom” in just a few more months.

Astronomy and Popular Culture, Part 5: The Search for Starkness Observatory

Late 18th or early 19th century depiction of the Gothic Observatory, Edinburgh

While David Lindsay’s 1920 science fiction novel A Voyage to Arcturus is not exactly a household name today, in its time it was quite influential on some very famous authors, including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The eponymous voyage to an imaginary planet orbiting the star Arcturus begins at the fictional Starkness Observatory, on the coast of Scotland, a facility described in some detail by Lindsay. In a featured guest blog on the University of Glasgow Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic’s website, CCSU astronomer Dr. Kristine Larsen searches for the real-world inspiration for Lindsay’s observatory, finding a connection with the tortuous history of the observatories of the University of Edinburgh.