One of the advantages of starting work at 6:00 am is that you get a sneak peak at upcoming winter skies. This morning marks the first time since last spring that I have seen Sirius. It's been visible earlier but this morning was the first time that eastern skies were clear when I happened to be looking. It was hoisting itself up above the Wasatch in the pe-dawn skies. It struck an ancient, visceral chord in my mind. Instinctively, I could sense the cold months ahead, spurred by this visual clue. Many, many years ago, the Little Mountain site was much better than it is today. There was unrestricted access to the flat parking area on the summit (now behind a locked gate) and amateur astronomers would gather there every clear Friday night in the summer. This was in the pre-SPOC days. The entire south side was bordered by telescopes. Bob Brundage would be there with his 4" refractor and occasionally his 12.5" reflector, Patrick would have his C-8, I had my 8" Astrola, Steve Jacobs would occasionally show-up with his 6" Dynamax, among many others. Even Bruce Grim would sometimes make an appearance. The skies were darker in those days as well- the Veil nebula was an easy object, and the Horsehead was glimpsed on rare occassions with 8" telescopes (and no LPR filters!). I remember how a chill would run down our spines as Capella rose, late at night in the northeast, promising colder nights in a few months. Rather a similar feeling to seeing Sirius this morning. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com