I was up (way too) late last night. Shortly after midnight, I stepped outside to let Ella in. It was a really beautiful and cool night, and the sky was very clear. So, I went inside, turned off all the lights (to let my eyes adjust), and fired up stellerium to see what interesting stuff I should look for.

Mars was high in the East and very vibrant. Right next to Mars was the The Pleiades that I've always thought were stunning. Both of these are in Taurus, which I've never really noticed because it's not one of the easier ones to pick out. So I decided to find it. Upon doing so I noticed that on one side of his head, there are two stars (turned out to be 77 and 78 Tau) that are so close that I could barely tell it was two with my naked eye.

The summer triangle was just about to disappear below the western horizon, and Orion, the most famous winter constellation, had just risen in the East, and I think I could make out part of Gemini (but they had Vaught-Hemingway's lights on, so that part of the sky was flooded with light pollution) coming up. Cassiopeia was almost directly overhead.

It's been a while since I've taken my telescope out, and this is the perfect time of year to hang out outside for long periods of time at night. I'm planning to do that tonight. If your skies are clear and unpolluted, step outside tonight and stand in awe of the universe