Confirmation

If you didn't think it before, it's confirmed!  I'm old!  For the past several years I've commented, probably ad-nauseam, about my bird watching.  Now, I'm even looking to the skies when it's dark.  We've been watching ( I say "we" so you don't think I've totally have gone off the deep end alone) the night sky for the past several weeks. Thankfully, the absent winter has left us with clear skies on many nights.  We've always known Venus is the brightest for us due to its proximity.  But seeing Jupiter so very bright and close has been pretty cool.  While camping last fall, Aunt Joy introduced us to an app on her iPad called "Star Walk." (it's free) Ironically enough, it was masterminded through a contest offered to students by Apple. The winner just happened to be a local (Syracuse) student who at one time was taught Science by a friend who was camping with us.  The app allows the camera in your iPad or iPhone to scan the night sky and show you the constellations, planets (and identify them) and even satellite dishes and who they belong to.... It's AMAZING!!!!  The student won a prize of $50K.
So, if you're awake and interested, here's the scoop:
It's not too late to catch the spectacular Venus and Jupiter show.
The planets will appear just 3 degrees apart in the western sky tonight. The gap has been narrowing since last month.
The two planets are visible every night at twilight. Venus is brighter because of its relative closeness, compared with super-far-away Jupiter.
Even though the gap will widen, the planets will appear remarkably close all week and be easily visible the rest of this month. So says astronomer Tony Phillips, author of the spaceweather.com website. Grab a small telescope, and you can also catch Jupiter's four largest moons.

Astronomers consider it the best evening tag-up of Venus and Jupiter in years. In July, early-risers will be treated to a similar spectacle, in the eastern sky at daybreak. Phillips says throw in the crescent moon, and it "will be worth waking up for."


I have been able to use good binoculars or even the zoom on my camera.  It's worth a perch on the porch to view the amazing night sky. I can tell you that 5 year olds enjoy it as much as those in their 60's.  And hey,you never know who might be looking back :-)