"...That's a Space Station..."

It's nice this time of year when it is clear. The sun is done, it is starting to cool off. You can sit outside with a cool beverage and watch the bats. The stars start to pop out. Speed on to Spica. Arc on to Arcturus. If you know the sky fairly well, you can start to pick out constellations: spot two of the stars in the Big Dipper, and you can make the rest of the stars "pop" into existence.

Look there, in the east. It's the full Moon. To the left (well, to the right if you are "upside down" from my perspective) is Jupiter at its brightest. Even a relatively modest pair of binoculars would be handy right now. You could pick out what of the four largest moons are visible around Jupiter and see features on the Moon (although any phase other than full is best, as the craters show up better when the sun is not overhead!).

Check out the satellite tracking sites like Heavens Above. Check out when the ISS will be visible from your location: I caught it the other night and it was spectacular. As it moves through your sky it'll change in brightness and maybe even color. Keep checking when it'll be visible when the shuttle is up...there's nothing quite like seeing the two of them flying in formation or how much brighter the "dot" is when they are docked.

Yep, it's a beautiful night tonight.