A crucial question is why do we like this kind of a photo?
Your eye is like a digital camera. The photo-array in your eye- retina is made of rods and cones, the fleshy organic equivalent of electronic pixels. Near the center of the retina lies the fovea, a patch of tissue 1.5 millimeters wide where cones are extra-densely packed. Whatever you see with the fovea, you see in high-definition.
The field of view of the fovea is only about five degrees wide. On that particular night Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon all fit together inside that narrow angle, signaling to the brain, "wow what a celestial wonder!"
It's all a very complicated response to a simple scene, but still fun to understand why we are compelled to look!
In astronomy this juxtaposition of heavenly bodies is known as conjunction or an appulse.
Lets hope this celestial appulse will usher in smiles and happy faces right through 2009.
4 comments:
Pretty interesting trivia Vimal (I know, Arun its your post :-) - no "emotipun" intended).
When u look at the sun (take a quick peek I mean), one is looking at 8+ mins into the past. Extending that, the happy face is reflecting lights from different temporal phases!
Nov. 2052 is less than 44 years away. Some of the bloggers might make it and hopefully rmbr. that we discussed it now ;-)
Pray and be optimistic that our WORLD LEADERS if not improve, but allow our globe to be as it is for our grandchildren to witness stars and moon smiling .
Now moon gazing is the order of the day ! Well looking for one without blemishes !
What say Astronomers ?
The star spangled banner which brought the world its sub prime collapse and a 'reversible 'vortex to be sucked in.
No stars please, only moons .
Hi,
Wonderful image , i'm sure this celestial cojunction will augur well for our blog and the Blogsters!!!!
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