Insomnia. 5:00. 26.58°N Lon: 81.86°W. My location in space and time and mind. At 55 F it is cold by my standards. Peering out my front door as I crane my neck to assess the movement on the Gulf of Mexico, flashes of lightning on the southern horizon illuminate distant cloudbanks. The front has passed and cool air is moving in from the north. Something is shimmering in the western sky just above the building next door. Is it a star? No. Too bright. I remember. Jupiter is putting on a show this week, offering moon transits and other celestial wonders that we missed because of clouds. I scramble to switch the lens on the camera and fumble with the tripod. Jupiter is about to march behind the building and I want to catch him before he stomps off. I am irritated. I have never liked the too-bright stairway light in the neighboring condo complex. Bad angle and lighting for the photo I want to take. Sweatshirt hastily pulled over my pajamas and moccasins instead of beach sandals, I clumsily bump the door on the way out. Camera settings are muscle memory on the fixed 14mm lens. ISO 2500. f/2.8. 20 seconds. One click and one look at the LCD preview and the cursed stairway light looks too bright. I hustle towards the beach and click a few more. Jupiter is trudging westward and time is short. Point. Shoot. 8 clicks total. A satellite or a plane streaks through the last shot of the southern sky. I have given up on Jupiter and point the camera aimlessly. Eager to see what light has pierced the early morning darkness, I bring up the shots on my Mac. A surprise. Jupiter looks his best framed by the stairway light. Maybe humans have not ruined the universe after all.
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