Jupiter

I saw Jupiter the other night through my little telescope that Randy and Heather gave me. It was a lovely, warm evening and I decided to drag out the 'scope to the sidewalk directly in front of my apartment. I did that several times last fall when Mars was big and close and it was a lot of fun. Surprising how much I could see despite the city lights all around.

I got the 'scope lined up with my 25mm eyepiece and I could easily see the bright blob of Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. When I switched eyepieces for the 9mm, I was stunned to see Jupiter much larger and clearer -- I could even see the bands or "stripes" across the planet's surface. It was so exciting! It made me wish I had a larger telescope. The one I have is fine, but it's tiny: only about a three-inch lense.

I just read on space.com that this month will see all five of the naked eye planets visible at the same time. They said the results will be spectacular even with small telescopes or binoculars, which I also have. That's good news. Now hopefully the weather will cooperate. It's getting warmer here in Los Angeles which means the evenings tend to be a little foggy.

In the words of the immortal Jack Horkheimer, "Keep looking up!"