The Planets at Dawn

Recently I am bombarded with an advert about "Do something autumn New Zealand". At first, I didn't think much but then I asked myself is there anything that I haven't done before it is a good thing to do in autumn? I remember back in time when I lived in Vietnam, I used to wake up early to go to work and I enjoyed seeing the sunrise with the sky bursting red and yellow.

Since moving to Wellington, I lost my morning routine and didn't bother to wake up early, especially when we don't have good weather here. Surprisingly for the last three weekends, the weather has been pretty amazing. Yesterday, I read a post from the Wellington Astronomical Society about an event called " The Planets at Dawn" to view the alignment of Saturn, Mars, Venus, Neptune and Jupiter in the morning skies through telescopes. I told my partner it would be cool to wake up early and take part in that event.

So instead of a lazy Sat morning sleeping in, we got up around 6:15 am to go to the waterfront. It was a bit cold and the city was still quiet at that time. I actually love how silent it was. Heading towards the harbour, I started to see the bright light at the end of the horizon. So excited as I am once again experiencing this beautiful moment of the day.

We did a quick walk to the waterfront to enjoy the moment with the warm and yellow light above the horizon. The cold atmosphere made the moment greater as I can feel a bit warm in my body.

_{The return of the sun - amazing to look at}

Arriving at the event, I saw many people waiting to see the planets through telescopes. We quickly got in line to see Mars, a future destination of Humankind. Everyone was so excited. I could hear the chats between the Welling Astronomical Society staff about how lucky we are to be here to witness this great event when the four planets aligned together. Today is the last day we can see it so I am super stoked that we made it.

Through the telescope, I could see Mars as a bright and round dot. I know we wouldn't be able to see it clearly as it is too far away.

_{Line up to see Mars}

_{Listen to the quick chat from a member of the group}

_{Beautiful Saturn - It is incredible how I can see the ring around Saturn.}

I couldn't take a photo with my phone as there was a long line of people waiting to see it so I chose to share with you photos taken by Adelina Reis from the Wellington Astronomical Society FB group - Link to view her post here.

_{From top left: Saturn, Mars, Venus, the Moon and Jupiter below.}

After saying "thank-you" to all Members of the group, my partner and I spent a bit of our time waiting for sunrise. It was a fine and beautiful morning, just what I need to calm my monkey mind.

Thanks to this experience, I love Wellington even more. By living here, I don't have to travel far or go to a certain place to enjoy beautiful moments in life. It is right here in the heart of this beautiful city.