(Image from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-is-mars-sometimes-bright-and-sometimes-faint )
At 2 AM Rhia calls me again. “Mom! I’m tangled in my blankets!”
Dragging myself out of bed, I groan and yell, “Coming!” Why do I yell? She can’t hear me, she’s deaf! This will be the fourth trip I’ve made to her room since 10 PM and I’m exhausted. I shouldn’t have made my bed so comfy because it makes it even harder to leave it.
Glancing to the window, I see a brilliant red spot in the sky, visible within the gap between my blinds and the window frame. What the …? I lower the blinds a little to see more of the sky. The red glow is huge and I think it must be a helicopter. No, it’s not moving. The orange light shimmers like a star and there are lines of clear light emanating outward, reminding me of how the Christmas star looks in movies.
“Mom!” my daughter yells again.
I dash to her room, disentangle her legs from the bed sheets, fluff her pillow, get her a drink of water, and kiss her forehead as she murmurs “Thank you” and then drifts to sleep. When I return to my bedroom, the orange light is still there.
It must be a planet, I think. It’s orange, so could be Mars, but I’ve never seen Mars that bright! Jupiter? Then I remember the astronomy app on my phone. After the app loads, I point my phone to the sky and the program centers on that glowing orange star.
Mars.
Mars in her most glorious brilliance as she moves closer to the Earth. The app reports that Mars is making it’s closest approach to Earth in fifteen years and the viewing will be excellent. In fact, Mars will move even closer later in the month.
I stand in the darkness of my room and stare at gleaming, golden-orange Mars and smile. It is so beautiful. If Rhia hadn’t dragged me out of bed again I would have missed it. Not that I’m thrilled to lose more sleep, but I’m grateful she woke me up at this particular moment. Leaving the blind lowered, I crawl back into bed where I discover I can still see Mars from my pillow. I drift back to sleep with that beautiful image filling my dreams.
Good night…