Conjunctions Harboring Bad News

The conjunction tonight of Mars and Regulus less than a degree apart in the sky looks like the holes from a stapler. Mars is sitting right above Regulus. Just to their upper left is Saturn, brighter than either of the two.

I showed my son the view out his window. He could see Saturn but not Mars or Regulus. He could spot the very bright Arcturus higher above Saturn. I waited a while for his eyes to adjust to the recently darkened room, but still he couldn't see the Mars/Regulus conjunction.

I left him in the dark room and went to get my husband's glasses, which are weak prescriptions. I brought them back and had him put them on. Now he could see the star and planet. He told me it was because he wasn't looking in the right place before. But then I had him slide his glasses down to check if he could see the two without them on. He couldn't.

A long time ago people saw conjunctions and comets as bearers of news, and usually bad news. Even in the modern era it seems this notion still can ring true.