Hello Friend,

   Well last night the skies were somewhat clear, here in the North.

Quite a bit of moisture hanging in the air,  so was not the best night to use a telescope.

      After several hours of digging up garden beds, and turning the soil, I wasn't really
up to dragging it out anyway. (You know, the honey-do or else  list).

Instead, I grabbed my trusty 10 x 42 Celestron Granite Binoculars, which actually serve a
dual purpose.

       Use them for both short stargazing sessions and for spotting and identifying the various
birds coming to our feeders, and  perched on the tree's during the ay.

Had a look at the planet Venus,  and then a scan of Jupiter.

Even caught an Iridium Flare, which was pretty cool!

      It's always nice to get out under the stars.

And really the point is, that you don't have to do a marathon session every time as a visual.observer.

Just get out and take a look.

Use a Planetarium app on your android or Iphone, or tablet  ( I have a few apps on my own including
Sky Safari and , Celestron's SkyQ which is very basic, and great for beginners.

Sky and Telescope's App Skyweek, is useful to find out what is up in the night sky for specific dates.

     Forget about the reality show's on TV, and see the Real reality show happening right above your head.

Clear Skies,

Ray Khan

PS For the ultimate in binocular viewing, check out these  Giant binoculars by Kowa.
      http://khanscope.com/productdetails.cfm?productID=4441.       Just don't plan on handholding
      these puppies though.