We’ve succeeded in moving from rural Dorset, where this was the view out of our window –
– to urban London, where this is the view from our window:
We were lucky to get it done (I’ll say more about the place in a moment) just in time, before Lockdown.
As you know, the coronavirus has spread so wide that even heavenly bodies have been prohibited from passing less than ten degrees from each other, so that the imminent conjunctions, on April 15, of the Moon with Jupiter and of Venus with Aldebaran have had to be canceled.
Detail from one of the charts in our book “Venus: A Longer View,” now being proofread
Venus has lodged an appeal: she has for weeks been cautiously keeping to a path unusually far to the north, has already mingled with the seven Pleiades sisters without any sign of infection (yet), and is on track to clear Aldebaran by as much 9.9° – surely that is sufficient for an exception to be made? – after all, it could pass as a mere rounding error. The argument is flimsy, and Venus will just have to hope that restrictions will be eased in time for her follow-up dates with the red-blooded giant, on June 12 (closer) and July 12 (less than a degree – nudge nudge!). As for the Moon, she thought of attempting an objection on the technical basis of parallax: she is to glide only two degrees south Jupiter, but that’s as seen from the center of the Earth; from Antarctica it would be more – but, alas, only about one degree more. And the Moon is herself so fat that she bulges closer to people. These are only the celebrity examples of conjunctions banned. All over the sky, stars are edging away from each other, and clusters and nebulae trying to make themselves look smaller. Contact binaries, globular clusters, shepherd moons within ring systems, and colliding galaxies, are beyond help.
Down here on Terra, everybody is having to spend all day en casa, or almost all day, like prisoners allowed an hour for exercise in the yard. The government has to put billions into an aid bailout package for industries threatened with bankruptcy, such as burglary. When we go out for a necessary purchase, we have to reach for it, and tender our payment, with long-handled implements such as pruning hooks or one of the new selfie sticks adapted with pincers. Everyone has to worry about running out of some essentials – just as Britain cut itself off from European supplies of a lot of essentials.
When it’s all over, someone will write a new Journal of the Plague Year, like Daniel Defoe’s 1772 account of the great bubonic plague of London. There is much speculation on whether any of the changes forced on our culture will become permanent. Will even Italians and Arabs have space bubble as large as those of Navajos? Will skies remain clear of contrails, will cities realize that their sudden astonishingly clean air is worth keeping? If there is popular outcry, however brief, for a sensibly mighty tax on car fuel and an end to subsidizing airplane fuel, let it be seized before the lessons are forgotten, as they were after the 1990 oil crisis.
Meanwhile, there is a wave of gratitude to Britain’s beloved National Health Service. There has sprouted a custom of applauding the NHS heroes by clapping in the streets, each Thursday evening. Our next-door neighbors bring out their drums, and I have a chance to let off energy with my exhibitionistic dancing. It has further brightened for us our new Isleworth street, which is actually an old little street though not so old as the one we left in Lyne Regis.
Isleworth – I’ll say more about it when I’ve learned more. Its name (EYE-zull-wuth) has nothing to do with “island,” yet immediately opposite to the end of our narrow garden, as you can see in the picture, is an uninhabited island, a nature preserve, where the public isn’t to set foot. It’s called Isleworth Eyot (pronounced, and also alternatively spelt, Ait, local word for islands in the Thames). We have a dock, and I hope to get a boat and let off energy rowing when the dancing (having scared away all the viruses) is over.
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This weblog maintains its right to be about astronomy or anything under the sun.
Mountain lions!are these pumas?what sort of threat do they pose to humans? I’ve read a few people have been attacked over the years but probably less of a threat than black bears?
Here’s the page where I learned about mountain lions and children. Yes, they are also called pumas and panthers.
https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/upload/Mtn%20Lion_9-07.pdf
Black bears can be dangerous but at least we’re not on their menu. They will attack on rare occasions to get at your food. They will also attack if they are cornered or if you get between the mama and her cubs. They have an excellent sense of smell so you don’t want to leave any food in your car. I read one story about a bear that broke into a car, then ripped apart the back seat to get into the trunk to get an empty granola bar wrapper. They will also break into your car to investigate any scented items like toothpaste or Windex.
One bear you don’t want to mess with is the sloth 🐻 Bear.its found in India and is smaller than the North American Black Bear.often if one attacks a human other people will wade in to try and rescue the victim doing this turns out badly for those wading in and I read of a recent case where a single sloth Bear killed 5 people and hurt a lot more during one of these cases which due to population pressure are not uncommon.probably after the polar bear I’d say that the sloth Bear is the second most dangerous bear probably followed by the Brown/grizzly, Asian black bear, North American Black Bear,sun Bear, South American bear and last but not least the cuddly 🐼 Panda Bear! however bear(ha ha)in mind most bears except polar bears will steer well clear of humans.
Portola Redwoods is a beautiful place. Enjoy your visit!
There are mountain lions in the area, but you’re not going to see one. They stay away from humans. They are at much greater risk from us (especially being hit by motor vehicles at night) than we are from them. It’s prudent to keep the little ones close to the grown-ups, and to remember to get big and loud if you see a mountain lion, but I wouldn’t worry too much about mountain lions. The biggest risk is from young males who are pushed into new territories at the urban / wildland interface. If they get hungry enough they will go for pet dogs and cats, and for people running on trails at dusk or dawn.
As apex predators, mountain lions are a vital species in our ecosystem. Deer are overpopulated in this area and mountain lions and coyotes are their only predators (at least until wolves make their way back here!). If not for the mountain lions there would be even more starving, sick deer, and more deer ticks giving people Lyme disease.
The best thing we could do for the mountain lions *and* for our own safety from them would be to establish safe corridors connecting one wild area to another, including tunnels under the highways, so that they could range and hunt freely without needing to cross paths with us. A solitary adult lion hunts throughout a 100 square mile (260 square km) territory!
There are no black bears in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. But human scavengers will break into your car if you leave anything valuable in it.
Boris Johnson also had nice things to say about the National Health Service so it must be loved by everyone no matter where they fall on the political spectrum. I would have reservations about it though if it causes deficit spending.
Hope you don’t get arrested for dancing on Thursday. (Or maybe that’s legal across the pond.)
I’m tempted to say something regarding the pronunciation of the first part of “Isleworth” and The Great Global Toilet Paper Crisis that gripped the planet (apparently) ahead of Lockdown [for anyone confused, lookup “Izal toilet tissue”; it famously had a texture crossed between tracing film and fine-grade sandpaper, from personal experience many years ago].
Glad to know you’re OK still though Guy, and that you managed to get moved before the universe collapsed in on itself (again, apparently).
As for what constitutes “safe” distances, re Anthony’s comment, I’m sure I saw somewhere that new research shows a cough can spread the infection over 10 AU, while a sneeze can spread it over a dozen light years or more. Of course, fitting cloth face masks to all astronomical objects will solve the problem, because they then won’t be able to breathe if they attempt something strenuous, such as moving…
More seriously, and closer to something astronomical, I was interested to find how difficult it was to see the Pleiades (M45) with the unaided eye when Venus was close-by and “among” the cluster. Ordinarily, and even when low in the sky in strong twilight (as around May to July), I’ve long found the Pleiades catches the eye more than separate stars of such relative faintness would under similar conditions. Fascinating to note the effects of this one brilliant, temporary, interloper.
Alastair is an expert on meteors and much else, including dragons and ancient Middle Eastern mythology.
Alastair, you nicely enter into the spirit of my riff on social distancing among the stars. Not having corresponded with you since November, I’m glad to know you are safe. I had thought of sending you the text of the part of my Venus book about Inanna and Ishtar (the Sumerian and Akkadian precursors of Venus) since you might well have corrections, but I decided not to bother you. Email me if you keenly wish that now, but I’d almost rather not upset things in this late stage and it will be easy, with the print-on-demand process, to make improvements. I’ll be sending you a copy as soon as I can.
Alastair — Thanks for the clarification regarding astroepidemiology. It’s a jungle out there!
I too was struck by how Venus’ glare overwhelmed the Pleiades.
Jupiter’s moons would be visible to the unaided eye in a reasonably dark sky, if Jove weren’t showing off. There’s never any social distancing when you’re serving the King of the Gods.
Thank you for your great blog posts! I’ve been keeping up with Venus’ close approach to the Pleiades until some recent cloudy skies impeded me. I have Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”, but didn’t know about his “Journal of the Plague Year”, it may make for interesting reading. Stay safe.
Regarding the photo from your London window.
I dont know when social distancing was instituted in England.
I see a policemen (are they still referred to as Bobbies?)
Perhaps it was already too late to disperse those crowds..
The virus had already succeeded in transmission from
some, who may be infected, but not yet have the symptoms
to others around them.
Michael
The two “from window” scenes were just meant to illustrate the paradox that in a rural place we had an urban view and in London we have a view a if far out in the countryside. The Lyme Regis view was before social distancing because it was before we left, actually far before – it was from one of the many street processions that happen there, or used to happen.
I wouldn’t worry too much about catching coronavirus in that crowd in Lyme Regis,if it was in action when that photo was taken?,as our prime minister kept the pubs and other enclosed spaces open during the first week or so of it getting really bad despite evidence from nearby Italy and Spain.he claims to be a keen historian if so Boris must have read how the 1918 flu spread.instead of listening to the WHO, the world health organization not the band!,he choose to listen to medical experts like pub oligarch Tony Martin,aka j.d.weatherspoon and the great virologist Richard Branson.strangley Sweden has gone down a similar road and now their death rate is around 900 probably a 1000 today.i don’t think that they call policemen bobbies anymore I haven’t heard it for a while coppers was another.
Stay safe, Guy. In Pennsylvania, our area is better than just to east but still scary enough to shut most everything down. We are loving the silence and the missing roar from highways yet terribly missing family and lil kids. It is so worth keeping distance and we will be glad when this plague is finished with. There will be good that comes out of it, I say hopefully. As you say, no contrails, no constant flights overhead, clearer air, less noise, we must remember. It’s an opportunity for conservationist to observe and baseline a more healthy environment. My wish? They’d turn off more of the lights at night and figure out we really don’t need them. Your picture scares me, way too many people who are way too close for comfort. Two weeks from the picture, it will sadly show :(
Mark — I live one short block from a playground with a paved soccer pitch, basketball court, and tennis court, and bright lights that are on until 10 pm every night. Shortly after San Francisco instituted social distancing last month the playground was padlocked because some people were not maintaining a safe distance from one another. But they kept turning the lights on every evening!
I called the Recreation and Parks Department and asked them to turn off the lights while the playground is closed, citing cost savings, a more peaceful neighborhood environment, and a better view of the stars for those of us who are looking up from our balconies and back yards while sheltering at home. Nothing happened for a couple of weeks, but last week they turned off the lights. The difference is remarkable. There’s still all the ambient urban light pollution, but twilight and dark are perceptible, and the transition into nighttime skywatching comes earlier and gradually, rather than abruptly at an hour when I should be getting ready for bed.
I hope the city has turned off the unnecessary lights at all the other public facilities as well, I hope people are noticing and appreciating the change, and I hope we will have a stronger constituency to advocate for better lighting practices across the city.
You deserve a medal from the International Dark-Sky Association!
I hope I wasn’t the only San Franciscan who made this suggestion. I’m sure Rec and Parks’ biggest motivation was money. The economic shutdown has reduced the city’s revenues dramatically, while we are also suddenly dealing with urgent unexpected expenses. Every city department is looking for every possible cost saving on nonessential activities.
Hey Anthony:
I’ll be visiting my daughter in Redwood City in July. On 7/26 we’ll be going to James Fitzgerald Marine Preserve to check out the tide pools. Low tide is at 9:37 a.m. Maybe you’d be interested in seeing crabs, sea stars, anemone, etc.
It’d be nice to meet you if you’re not doing anything.
ricksimon3@yahoo.com
Hi Rick. Fitzgerald Marine Preserve is lovely. They’re closed right now because of the corona virus pandemic. I hope things will be back to some semblance of normal by July, and I hope you’ll be able to see some interesting wildlife in the tide pools.
Do be careful. The ocean gets very deep a short distance offshore and there are sometimes sneaker waves. Keep one eye on the ocean at all times.
I have a family obligation on July 26 (again assuming social gatherings are safe by then), so I wouldn’t be able to join you.
Thanks for the advice. I’ll face the ocean when looking in the tide pools and make sure my grandchildren stay next to me or next to their parents.
After Fitzgerald we’re going on a hike at Portola Redwoods State Park. I know not to let my young grandchildren get ahead or behind us on the trail because of mountain lions.
We forget what we have lost to the motorist.i was walking across,via a bridge not being Jesus,a stream at the village of greatham, Co Durham and noted how clear the stream was normally the run off from the a689 the a road than goes all the way from Hartlepool to Carlisle would have stained it and the bottom wouldn’t have been visible but I fear it’ll back to business as usual after coronavirus has gone.
Love the contrast of the rural view vs the London view! :D And the conjunction cancellation was hilarious. You referenced a Navajo space bubble. It made me think of Charles de Lint’s “Svaha” novel.
Beautiful photos of beautiful places. Thanks!
I am reminded of Bill Bryson’s book, English and How It got That Way!
Good to hear from you, Guy! I’m happy to hear you were able to make the move. I hope you’re getting settled well.
If I were representing the Moon and Jupiter, I would argue that there is no risk of infection over 5 astronomical units of true distance. Venus and Aldebaran have an even stronger case, with an actual separation of 67 light years.
Good to hear from you Guy. We’re doing well here, in quarantine, self-imposed. Our daughters are good, but sadly, Nilly’s Mom passed away two weeks ago. She was 91, did NOT die from Corona virus, but really from “old age.” Love to you guys!!! Terry
Congratulations on the move, it is a delightful bit of London. I spent several happy years just downriver in Barnes. You are now pretty close to the Museum of Water and Steam with some remarkable working Victorian steam engines – although that will be an after the lockdown pleasure.