Antares

It's been years since I've seen Antares. In Dhaka, living in a concrete box called an apartment, one can't even see the blue of the sky!

So I hope to venture out where there's no light or noise or dust pollution and watch Antares rise.

It is scheduled to rise at 7:11 pm, exactly when the sun is scheduled to sink. That means that Antares will be well-nigh invisible then - especially as Antares threatens to rise exactly in the south-east, almost opposite the sun in the north-west (azimuth 110 SE).

I love the name Antares! It is the opposite of Mars (Ares), the god of war, and war is abhorrent. So I love Antares, red and glowering from the night sky when the moon is absent. And I feel secure that it is not Mars.

How I love Antares! Pray that the clouds will not obstruct the view of Antares.

Mars

I was going by rickshaw the other night, when I looked up and saw – The Red Planet! To ‎the east, it shone like a red star, but it wasn't Antares. ‎

This is a great opportunity to see the Red Planet in its glory: it is almost as bright as ‎Jupiter. ‎

Of course, it isn't as bright as it was in 2003, when it seemed to be overhead, but I have ‎never seen it this bright since or before then. ‎

Watch out for Mars tonight!‎