A sky-high day

Several things high in the sky left me sky-high today (or at least feeling blessed).

I usually head out to the end of the driveway to get my morning paper well before dark, and today was no exception. When I make these brief excursions, I always enjoy taking a look at the night sky. I'm not much of an astronomer, but I can spot the Big Dipper, Orion's belt, or Mars, and I usually can tell you what phase the moon is in. This morning the sky was two-thirds clouded over, but the western sky was clear and a beautiful full moon hung low there. At the sight of it, I remembered that the annual Gemenid meteor shower was peaking this morning. It was not supposed to be spectacular due to the overpowering light of the full moon. But coming back up the driveway, my house obscured the moon, and I happened to glance up just in time to see a falling meteor streak through a gap in the clouds--always a delightful experience.

Here's a photo of a Gemenid meteor (taken by Alan Dyer in British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday night) that looks like the one I saw this morning:

Later, as I headed for work, I noticed a beautiful sundog. What's are sundogs? Also known as a parhelion, it's an atmospheric effect that looks like a little patch of rainbow. They're produced by the refraction of light in tiny ice crystals in the air. They always appear 22 degrees on either side of the sun, but I could see only one today. Still, it was a pleasant sight. Here's a picture, shot by Clay S. Turner (the sundogs are off to the sides):

Finally, heading home, I had the neat experience of following a low-flying red-tailed hawk for a quarter-mile or so. He kept ahead of me, even though I was doing around 40 mph, then swooped to the side to perch in a tree. I always enjoy the sight of raptors in flight, but seeing one "going my way" was a new, uplifting experience. He looked like this fella:

All these celestial treats follow the wonderful sight of Venus shining powerfully in the southeast in the early evening here in the Southern United States, as well as the sight a couple of nights ago of the moon and Mars side by side.

The heavens declare the glory of God. . . . (Psalm 19:1).