Stars of Late Summer

Well this was a magnificent morning so far. I woke up (thanks Ed) and went to let the dogs out. Nearly crystal clear and the stars of winter were bright against the dark late summer monring sky.

Orion was beautiful, the belt and the fuzzy nebula area bright and distinct. Cassieopea was pretty and the constellation of Gemini had many faint stars visible. I would say at least mag 3.5 lm this morning here.

Most notable was Taurus. what a goregeous constellation today! The V of the horns with the mightly Alderberan shining orange! I counted nine easily visible stars in the Pleiades.

Most notable was Mars. It was HUGE. I have never seen it with such a large apparent diameter, ever They are saying 16 arcsec across with another 4 to go before the planet makes closest approach in October. I MUST bring the scope out. This planet is luminous...and awesome.