In which I evangelize for astronomy

[eve_prime]

Today I went on a mission. Sure, a total solar eclipse is doubtless a fancy and special event... but to my mind, one of the coolest things about it is that it's the chance of a lifetime to get a good look at Mercury. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all regularly on view, and that's pretty amazing, but how often can we see Mercury? As far as I know, I never have - it's always right next to the sun. So that's what I'm looking forward to, for Monday. Today I printed a bunch of copies of a diagram I found online and handed them out to J's coworkers, so they too can properly notice Mercury on Monday. Woo hoo, Mercury!