off topic: Viewing MARS

[Patricia M Godfrey pmgodfrey@xxxxxxxx]

Thanks, Richard, for the heads-up. I think I saw it last night. 1:45
a.m., EDT, about 55 degrees above the southern horizon, 75 above the
eastern (but my view of the horizon is blocked by trees and buildings, so
those are guesstimates). Brighter and larger--a visible disk--than
anything I've ever seen but the moon, and even slightly reddish (but that
may have been autosuggestion). Would not want to have missed it.
	I read once that the most ordinary people in the Middle Ages (those with
normal vision, at least) could identify more of the heavenly bodies
visible to the naked eye (and they could see more, because of lack of
light pollution) than any but enthusiastic amateur astronomers nowadays.
What price progress?
Patricia