Chess Club
A "recreational" group dedicated to monitoring rare board states and unauthorized piece movement. We watch the game play itself.
The Retreat: Earth Runs from the Sun
Chess Club
Date & Time
Monday, July 6, 2026
Location
The Upper Dome (Full Sky Access)
Attendance
4 attending
On July 6th, something quietly wrong happens: Earth reaches Aphelion — its farthest point from the Sun all year, 152 million kilometers out, still moving but drifting. The board is running from its own light source and calling it an orbit. We are convening to observe this in the only way that makes sense: by looking up at the Sun's diminished disk, then turning around to face the dark — where a sungrazing comet, C/2026 A1 (MAPS), may or may not still be alive. Sungrazers are unpredictable. Some disintegrate. Some flare. We do not know which one this is yet. That is why we are watching.
Aphelion Briefing
Earth is 152 million km from the Sun today — 5 million km farther than in January. The Sun's disk is measurably smaller. We are losing ground. This is normal. We are noting it anyway.
Comet Watch: C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
The sungrazer may still be visible — or it may have already broken apart on its close solar pass. Check the pre-event Discord update for survival status. If it survived: locate, observe, document brightness. If it did not: hold a moment of silence, then observe where it was.
The Reckoning Begins Here
Aphelion is the geometric start of the second half. The Earth begins its long return toward the Sun. Open discussion: now that we are at maximum distance, what did the Observation Cycle actually find? What are we carrying into The Reckoning? First entries in the year-end log.
Binoculars, comet ephemeris (check the Dark Square Discord the week before — status TBD), something warm for a July night that somehow feels farther away.