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 1 month 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 1 month ago
Beware the calends of April.
16 years 1 month ago
You had me going there for a second. For those people jumping up and down - APRIL FOOL!

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV picked one of the most common names in history for a pope. But it is a name with great resonance in modern church history, and one whose selection suggests quite a bit about what the reign of the new pontiff might be like.
James T. KeaneMay 09, 2025
A scene from the episode on Joan of Arc on ‘Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints’ (Fox Nation/AP)
Dedication to fostering a personal relationship with Christ and embracing the unique callings of faith permeates each episode of "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints’
Alli BobzienMay 09, 2025
A photo of people outside in a city protesting
In 'We Have Never Been Woke,' Musa al-Gharbi seeks to untangle competing threads of discourse around identity and social justice.
Stephen G. AdubatoMay 09, 2025
People react at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Chiclayo, Peru, May 8, 2025, the day Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope. He chose the papal name Leo XIV. As an Augustinian priest, then-Father Prevost spent many years as a missionary in Peru. (OSV News photo//Sebastian Castaneda, Reuters)
The late pope’s attention to geographic detail led to what was described as the most diverse conclave in the history of the church.
Kevin ClarkeMay 09, 2025