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IS THIS PARADE OF PLANETS NOW ONGOING UNUSUAL?

Sat at my computer this morning, and I began by citing the new Hughes fire in Los Angeles Country, contrasted with the freeze in the South; a host of developments regarding the idiocy of President Donald Trump's commandments; and remarked about the 2400th aid truck in the Gaza Strip.  As important as they were, just erased a couple of hours work, and instead will today post on a few entertaining aspects of life today.

Here is something absolutely free, the cosmic event of 2025:  a parade of planets, which will be visible to the naked eye all month, beginning this week.

  • The key date is in two nights, January 25.  Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will appear to line up a few hours after dark.
  • Uranus and Neptune will be there, too, but require binoculars or telescopes.
  • Got it so far?  Six planets, plus a seventh, Earth, from where the viewing is being done.

    • Tokyo: February 22, 166-degree sky sector;
    • Mexico: February 25, 170-degree sky sector;
    • New York: February 25, 157-degree sky sector;
    • Hong Kong: February 27, 174-degree sky sector;
    • Berlin: March 2, 141-degree sky sector;
    • London: March 2, 142-degree sky sector;
    • Sydney: March 3, 122-degree sky sector;
    • São Paulo: March 4, 126-degree sky sector;
  • Watch this video.

  • But is all the above really true?
    • We now only have 8 planets, since Pluto became a dwarf planet.
    • Thus, if we see seven planets in the sky, with Earth as #8, we will view all 7 other planets while being on the 8th, Earth.
    • To begin, astrophysicists say that for all eight to align within 1 degree of the sky would happen every 13.4 trillion years ago.  So this has never happened because the Universe is only about 13.8 billion years.  This I comprehend.
  • Well, what about within 3.6 degrees?  Every 396 billion years.  So never yet, and never will, because our Sun will transform into a white dwarf in 6 billion years, after swallowing up Mercury, Venus and Earth.  This also makes sense.
  • Okay, what about all 8 at the same time in the sky over 180 degrees (that is the entire sky from where you view).  It is said that the last time this happened was in the year 949.  Next one?  6May2492.  So this does occur.

Watched The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, featuring Nicholas Cage.  Free on Netflix. Very entertaining.  Rotten Tomatoes scores of 87/87, and here is what they said:

Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.

Finally, did you see Saturday Night Live's cold open spoof of MSNBC's Trump Special?  Rachel Maddow (Sarah Sherman), Joy Reid (Ego Nwodim), Chris Hayes (Andrew Dismukes), Stephanie Ruhle (Chloe Fineman) and Ari Melber (Marcello Hernández).

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