Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Jim McDermottApril 01, 2009

A strange, fun tidbit: the alignment of Venus and Mercury relative to Earth today creates a very slight upward gravitational pull which is actually just enough to be sensed. Many will feel a certain lightness in their step; if you get on a scale your weight will be slightly less.  And, the really cool part, if you jump into air at exactly 11:11 am this morning (EST), or at 5:37 this afternoon, you will be able to experience a very slight floating sensation. First discovered in 1937 by astronomer Sir Robert Townsley, this event actually occurs once every 587 days.  A little-known, but amazing feature of life in a solar system of planets.

Enjoy!

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
16 years 3 months ago
wish I'd known this earlier, how amazing! My 8 year old would have had a great 'show and tell' with this today! Thanks Jim, I love your posts.
16 years 3 months ago
Beware the calends of April.
16 years 3 months ago
You had me going there for a second. For those people jumping up and down - APRIL FOOL!

The latest from america

“One of the things I find most appealing about the award-winning writer and poet Mary Karr is her forthright, almost brutal, honesty.”
James Martin, S.J.July 01, 2025
Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025