CHANGE OF GUARD IN THE MORNING SKY….

by William J. Bechaver

Mars remains difficult to spot in the morning sky. It is so distant, right now, and appears so low, rising only an hour before the Sun, that it is lost in the Sun’s glare except for only under the most ideal conditions.

Tiny Mercury is moving further off, and sinking lower in the sky each day, and becoming more difficult to sight as well.

Only Venus in the morning sky is really easy to find. No matter how far from Earth it moves, it continues to glow brightly high in the sky.

Mercury remains the nearest planet to Earth, and will continue to for some time, but Venus always out shines Mercury, regardless of its distance.

Venus is much larger than Mercury or Mars, and it is covered in a layer of bright, reflective clouds. So, it tends to dominate the morning sky.

Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth, while Mercury is only slightly larger than our Moon. So Mercury doesn’t stand a chance to outshine Venus, even during its best appearance.

But this week, we will be treated to a pairing of the dimmer of the three planets, so keeping Mercury in view each morning, will eventually help us find Mars, as the two come together and effectively pass each other in the morning sky.

On the morning of Saturday 27 January, Mercury will be slightly higher than distant Mars, low in the bright sky before the dawn of the new day.

Go out about forty five minutes before sunrise, at about 6:15, and look to the east. Low on the horizon, to the lower left of brilliant Venus above, try to find fading Mercury and nearing Mars as the two planets come together in the morning sky.

Mercury will be only slightly to the upper left of dimmer Mars. The planets will appear less than half a degree apart at their rising.

On Saturday morning, Mercury will rise only 1 minute, 17 seconds before Mars, and appear slightly higher in the sky than the red planet.

By Sunday 28 January, their positions will be changed, as Mars will rise 1 minute, 42 seconds before Mercury. Watch for the switch, for on Sunday morning, Mars will appear higher than Mercury.

From this day onward, Mars will rise earlier, and remain higher in the sky, while Mercury will be lower, and continue to sink rapidly toward the glow of the Sun.

As Mars continues to climb, our viewing opportunities for the distant rocky world will increase and improve. Mars will slowly edge its way out of the glare and into the darker sky before sunrise, as Earth is slowly drawing nearer the distant planet.

Mercury will continue to speed away, and as it sinks, it is preparing to pass around the far side of the Sun, and out of view for us on Earth for a short while.

Mercury speeds around the Sun so rapidly in its shorter orbit, it makes progress quickly, moving in the sky faster than any other planet.

However, Mars is only progressing in its orbit a little slower than Earth. So, we gradually gain on it, but its progression out of the sunlight will be much slower than Mercury’s dive around the Sun.

Now the motion of Venus is becoming apparent as it is also moving away from Earth. It is sinking lower in the morning sky as well, and now rises less than two hours before the Sun.

But its motion is slower also, and its descent will be deliberate. But watch in the next few months as Mars forever continues the climb upward, and Venus methodically makes its descent. The distance between the two will gradually decrease, and they will become a dominant pair in the morning sky.

The evening planets, Saturn and Jupiter, are making their way across the evening sky. Saturn now sets in the evening hours, only a little more than two hours after the sky has darkened, so our chances of viewing the distant, ringed planet, are growing short.

Jupiter sets after midnight this week, but with its motion ever westward, it will be setting before midnight before the week is out, remaining a truly night planet.

Then, after midnight, there are no planets to be observed in the night sky until the early morning Venus rises in the east.

The fascinating motion of the planets is always intriguing, and watch this week as Mars takes over one position, to rise above Mercury, gaining elevation to eventually take over the top position as highest planet in the morning sky.

With our dark skies here, they only need to be clear, so keep your eyes on the skies from sunset to sunrise.

Thanks for the positive feedback about our featured columns, and your continued interest in astronomy. If you have any questions or article requests, contact us at spacescape@rocketmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @ColoSpacEScapE for updates and additional viewing opportunities.

ASTRONOMICAL TIMES AND DISTANCES of naked-eye objects for this weekend.

Sun Set = 5:17 p.m.
8 minutes later than last week
91.533 million miles from Earth
64,827 miles further than last week
129,754 miles further than its nearest in January

Moon Rise = 7:16 p.m.  
60 minutes later than last night
251,973 miles from Earth
640 miles further than last night
12,039 miles further than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,665 miles

Saturn Set = 7:33 p.m.
24 minutes earlier than last week
983.884 million miles from Earth
5,638,872 miles further than last week
169.305 million miles further than its nearest in August

Jupiter Set = 12:31 a.m.
25 minutes earlier than last week
455.801 million miles from Earth
10,472,997 miles further than last week
85.477 million miles further than its nearest in November

Venus Rise = 5:05 a.m.
10 minutes later than last week
118 minutes before the Sun
124.931 million miles from Earth
3,617,375 miles further than last week
98.093 million miles further than its nearest in August

Mars Rise = 5:58 a.m.
7 minutes earlier than last week
65 minutes before the Sun
216.722 million miles from Earth
2,303,460 miles nearer than last week
20.262 million miles nearer than its furthest in October

Mercury Rise = 6:00 a.m.
14 minutes later than last week
63 minutes before the Sun
116.665 million miles from Earth
8,377,951 miles further than last week
53.488 million miles further than its nearest in December

Sun Rise = 7:03 a.m.
4 minutes earlier than last week
91.540 million miles from Earth
6,502 miles further than last evening
66,977 miles further than last week
136,256 miles further than its nearest in January

Third Quarter Moon occurs on Friday, February 2nd, at 4:18 p.m.

We’ve Gained 12 Minutes Of Daylight since last week, and 36 minutes since last month, and 37 minutes since the December Solstice.

Our Nearest Planetary Neighbor currently is Mercury.

No Planet In The Dark Sky for 4 hours 34 minutes. This is the duration between Jupiter Set and Venus Rise in the early morning. No naked-eye planets are visible during this period.

Note: Times are local Mountain Time. Actual “sundown” is about a dozen minutes earlier than calculated “sunset”. Along the front range, differing times vary depending on your distance from the mountains.
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• · William J. Bechaver is the director of SPACE • Spanish Peaks Amateur Cosmos Enthusiasts, the premier Astronomical Society for Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

S·P·A·C·E•Date 16.1730 • 220

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NO PLANETS FOR LATE-NIGHT VIEWERS….

by William J. Bechaver

There has been a lot of planetary viewing for the month already. But the last pairing with the Moon occurs at the end of this week.

On Thursday 18 January, the Moon is near Jupiter, high in the sky as the Sun sets.

Shortly after sundown, go out and find the quarter Moon, overhead and shining dominantly. Below to the right, watch as Jupiter emerges from the fading light, making a nice pairing with the Moon, barely more than three degrees apart.

This pairing will be brighter and closer together than the earlier lunar event with Saturn.

Jupiter and the Moon will share the sky for several hours, as the Jupiter doesn’t set until well after midnight, with the Moon following behind it. Watch this pairing throughout the evening hours, as the spacing between the two will increase throughout the hours of visibility. So the earlier you spot the pair, the closer they will appear to each other.

The bigger planetary news is the movement of the planets in the sky. Jupiter is slowly progressing further west each evening, setting a little earlier every morning.

Venus in the morning sky is slowly moving further east, rising later before the Sun.

The space between the two planets continues to increase each day, and the difference is noticable every week.

Jupiter sets just before one o’clock in the morning, and Venus rises this week just before five o’clock. Between the two planets there is nary a planet to be viewed with the naked eye.

That means that there is almost four hours without a planet in the sky, between the setting of Jupiter and the rise of Venus.

Jupiter and Venus are the brightest planets in the sky to be viewed from Earth. Only Uranus lies between the two right now, but it requires a small telescope to view. And even Uranus sets only an hour after Jupiter, leaving the sky completely planetless for three hours before the rise of Venus in the east.

Following the encounter with Jupiter, the Moon will progress across the sky slowly as always, but it won’t encounter rising Venus in the morning sky until a week into February.

On Saturday 20 January, after the sky has darkened, find the Moon in the southeastern sky. To the upper right of the Moon, try to find the beautiful Pleiades star cluster, its gleam fighting its way through the increasing moonlight.

And later in the week, as the Moon leaves Taurus, it will reside in Gemini as it rises in the east. The Moon is almost full, on Wednesday 24 January, above the Moon you can find Pollux, one of the the twin stars of Gemini.

In the early morning hours now, go out and keep an eye on fading Mercury, as it sinks lower, into the lightening sky, and away from Venus. Watch below Mercury for the emergence of Mars as it is slowly climbing out of the glow.

Next week, Mercury and Mars will meet again, in more favorable sky conditions, as their last passage was mostly lost to the predawn glare. This month’s, though not easy to see, will be a very close passage indeed.

Venus will shine brightly above to the right of the pair. Then with the progression of planets, Venus and Mars will have an encounter of their own next month, as Venus moves east and Mars moves west, and the two will finally come together in the morning sky.

But for this week, with such a gap between the brightest planets, the Moon will guide our way through the constellations, as it makes its way from Jupiter to Venus during a two week journey.

With our dark skies here, they only need to be clear, so keep your eyes on the skies from sunset to sunrise.

Thanks for the positive feedback about our featured columns, and your continued interest in astronomy. If you have any questions or article requests, contact us at spacescape@rocketmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @ColoSpacEScapE for updates and additional viewing opportunities.

ASTRONOMICAL TIMES AND DISTANCES of naked-eye objects for this weekend.

Sun Set = 5:09 p.m.
7 minutes later than last week
91.469 million miles from Earth
39,776 miles further than last week
64,927 miles further than its nearest in January

Saturn Set = 7:57 p.m.
24 minutes earlier than last week
978.245 million miles from Earth
6,627,184 miles further than last week
163.666 million miles further than its nearest in August

Jupiter Set = 12:56 a.m.
25 minutes earlier than last week
445.328 million miles from Earth
10,353,776 miles further than last week
75.004 million miles further than its nearest in November

Moon Set = 3:59 a.m.  
67 minutes later than last night
239,934 miles from Earth
2,433 miles further than last night
14,693 miles further than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,665 miles

Venus Rise = 4:55 a.m.
12 minutes later than last week
132 minutes before the Sun
121.313 million miles from Earth
3,752,873 miles further than last week
94.475 million miles further than its nearest in August

Mercury Rise = 5:46 a.m.
12 minutes later than last week
81 minutes before the Sun
108.287 million miles from Earth
10,653,837 miles further than last week
45.110 million miles further than its nearest in December

Mars Rise = 6:05 a.m.
6 minutes earlier than last week
62 minutes before the Sun
219.025 million miles from Earth
2,231,338 miles nearer than last week
17.958 million miles nearer than its furthest in October

Sun Rise = 7:07 a.m.
3 minutes earlier than last week
91.473 million miles from Earth
4,352 miles further than last night
41,557 miles further than last week
69,279 miles further than its nearest in January

Full Moon occurs on Thursday, January 25th, at 10:54 a.m.

We’ve Gained 10 Minutes Of Daylight since last week, and 25 minutes since last month, and 25 minutes since the December Solstice.

Our Nearest Planetary Neighbor currently is Mercury.

No Planet In The Dark Sky for 3 hours 59 minutes. This is the duration between Jupiter Set and Venus Rise in the early morning. No naked-eye planets are visible during this period.

Note: Times are local Mountain Time. Actual “sundown” is about a dozen minutes earlier than calculated “sunset”. Along the front range, differing times vary depending on your distance from the mountains.
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• · William J. Bechaver is the director of SPACE • Spanish Peaks Amateur Cosmos Enthusiasts, the premier Astronomical Society for Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

S·P·A·C·E•Date 16.1538 • 219

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SATURN AND JUPITER WITH AN EVENING MOON….

by William J. Bechaver

Even though we’ve had some difficult weather with which to contend, the morning planets have not failed in their pairings with the fine crescent Moon this week.

And in the coming week, we have more planets to find, this time in the evening sky. The fine crescent Moon will enter the evening sky, and as it climbs higher, the first planet it encounters will be Saturn.

Saturn is falling further away as Earth speeds away from it in our more rapid orbit. It tends to fade in amongst the stars in the evening sky, but the Moon will remind us where to find the ringed planet.

On the evening of Saturday 13 January, you can go out shortly after sunset and find the beautiful crescent Moon, its horns turned upward in the darkening sky. Above, and slightly to the left of the Moon, Saturn will appear, emerging from the twilight glow as the light in the sky fades.

Saturn is about three hours behind the Sun, so we can observe the distant planet as it is setting lower in the west.

The entire time, the Moon will slowly draw closer to Saturn, the spacing between becoming narrower. It may not be readily noticeable, but if you view the pair right after sunset, when Saturn first appears, and a couple hours later, before the pair sets, the difference will be obvious.

The Moon will set about thirty minutes before Saturn, so be sure to catch the pair before the Moon slips out of view below the western horizon.

The following evening, the pairing will begin at about the same distance, but this time, with the crescent Moon above Saturn, and the planet to the lower right of the Moon. And, if you keep an eye on the pair on Sunday evening, January 14th, the distance between the two will increase as they settle lower into the west.

The Moon will set more than an hour later than it did the night before, when it was below Saturn, but Saturn will set at about the same time both nights, only three minutes earlier on Sunday, so be sure to catch it before Saturn winks out over the horizon.

On the evening of Thursday 18 January, the Moon will have traversed the space between the planets, and the Moon, just past First Quarter phase, will reside above brighter Jupiter, high overhead in the south just after sunset.

Again, go out right after sunset. You will be able to spot brighter Jupiter earlier than Saturn makes its appearance. Overhead, the quarter Moon will shine dominantly. Below to the right you will find Jupiter shining brightly, in a nice pairing barely more than three degrees apart.

This pairing, brighter and closer together, will be visible for longer as well, as Jupiter doesn’t set until well after midnight, with the Moon following behind it. Again, the spacing between the two will increase throughout the hours of visibility, so the earlier you spot the pair, the closer they will appear to each other.

And watch and observe throughout the night, how the distance increases, even more during the longer viewing time.

Now Jupiter sets after one, and Venus doesn’t appear in the east until before five, leaving a dark sky with nary a planet visible for over two hours.

Mercury has now reached its highest position in the eastern morning sky. From this point on, it will continue in its orbit away from Earth, and appear lower to the horizon, each morning. Now, it resides high in an almost completely dark sky at its rising, so is quite easy to find with a clear eastern horizon.

Get out there this week to find Mercury, for its fade and descent happen rapidly after its climb culminates in the morning sky. And as it rises later, the sky is beginning to lighten earlier, and finding the tiny planet in a brighter sky makes the search all the more difficult.

So, as always, there’s plenty of planetary activity to observe by just stepping outside and looking up with a purpose. And the Moon this week, will guide our gaze to the largest visible planets, Jupiter and Saturn, as they continue to grace our skies right after the sunset fades, until they set in the west.

With our dark skies here, they only need to be clear, so keep your eyes on the skies from sunset to sunrise.

Thanks for the positive feedback about our featured columns, and your continued interest in astronomy. If you have any questions or article requests, contact us at spacescape@rocketmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @ColoSpacEScapE for updates and additional viewing opportunities.

ASTRONOMICAL TIMES AND DISTANCES of naked-eye objects for this weekend.

Sun Set = 5:02 p.m.
7 minutes later than last week
91.429 million miles from Earth
21,517 miles further than last week
25,151 miles further than its nearest in January

Moon Set = 7:49 p.m.  
77 minutes later than last night
225,241 miles from Earth
53 miles further than last night
13,711 miles nearer than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,665 miles

Saturn Set = 8:21 p.m.
24 minutes earlier than last week
971.617 million miles from Earth
7,545,800 miles further than last week
157.038 million miles further than its nearest in August

Jupiter Set = 1:21 a.m.
27 minutes earlier than last week
434.974 million miles from Earth
10,089,179 miles further than last week
64.650 million miles further than its nearest in November

Venus Rise = 4:43 a.m.
13 minutes later than last week
117.560 million miles from Earth
3,892,233 miles further than last week
90.722 million miles further than its nearest in August

Mercury Rise = 5:34 a.m.
4 minutes later than last week
96 minutes before the Sun
97.634 million miles from Earth
12,767,608 miles further than last week
34.456 million miles further than its nearest in December

Mars Rise = 6:11 a.m.
5 minutes earlier than last week
59 minutes before the Sun
221.257 million miles from Earth
2,137,662 miles nearer than last week
15.727 million miles nearer than its furthest in October

Sun Rise = 7:10 a.m.
1 minute earlier than last week
91.431 million miles from Earth
2,571 miles further than last night
22,946 miles further than last week
27,722 miles further than its nearest in January

First Quarter Moon occurs on Wednesday, January 17th, at 8:52 p.m.

We’ve Gained 7 Minutes Of Daylight since last week, and 14 minutes since last month, and 15 minutes since the December Solstice.

Our Nearest Planetary Neighbor currently is Mercury.

No Planet In The Dark Sky for 2 hours 22 minutes. This is the duration between Jupiter Set and Venus Rise in the early morning. No naked-eye planets are visible during this period.

Note: Times are local Mountain Time. Actual “sundown” is about a dozen minutes earlier than calculated “sunset”. Along the front range, differing times vary depending on your distance from the mountains.
________________
• · William J. Bechaver is the director of SPACE • Spanish Peaks Amateur Cosmos Enthusiasts, the premier Astronomical Society for Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

S·P·A·C·E•Date 16.1346 • 218

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PLANETARY ENCOUNTERS FOR THE NEW YEAR….

by William J. Bechaver

The New Year has just begun, and already this week, we will have several lunar planetary encounters to enjoy in our morning sky.

Venus, as always, shines brightest of the planets, and continues to dominate the morning sky, high in the east before sunrise.

But it shares the sky right now with fainter Mercury, further below as the sky begins to lighten. And further below still, almost lost in the glare of the sunrise still, is Mars. But this month will afford us an opportunity to find both in the morning sky before sunrise.

It is always helpful to have the Moon to guide the tour of the planets, and this week, the new year kicks off with a string of events to find the inner planets, both bright and faint alike.

We’ll start the tour on the morning of Monday 8 January 2024. It’s always nice to start with Venus, since it shines so brightly in our sky, and is unmistakable for anything else.

As it rises about two-and-a-half hours before the Sun, it is obvious in the morning sky while the sky is still extremely dark. But on Monday morning, a beautiful fine crescent will share the sky with Venus.

Find the beautiful crescent and Venus as they rise just after 4:30 in the morning. Though the timing is the same, the pair will be more than six degrees apart at their rising. But still, as they climb into the dark sky, the pairing will be beautiful.

Venus is the bright body appearing above and to the left of the Moon. But there is a bonus sighting very near the Moon, off below its sunlit side, is a bright star, less than a degree below the Moon. It is the bright star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, very near the Moon and shining just bright enough to avoid the Moon’s glare.

So, though the distant pairing with Venus will be much more obvious, the close pairing with Antares will be amazing as the two appear so close together. The crescent Moon will appear closer to the star the later in the morning you look, so keep an eye on the pair until the star is lost in the glare of the sunrise, to observe them at their closest.

For viewers in excellent dark sky locations, watch as the sky is lightening, and you can actually see the star disappear behind the bright limb of the Moon, as the Moon passes in front of Antares, in an event known as an occultation.

We may lose sight of the star as the two are very near and the sky is growing brighter. But use a decent pair of binoculars to keep the star in view, and watch as the Moon slowly moves in front of it, blocking it from view.

It will reappear on the other, darkened side of the Moon, but the reappearance won’t happen until after sunrise for us. It will emerge during the pre-dawn hours on the west coast. But with a little bit of luck here, we can see the bright star Antares as it disappears behind the Moon!

Down below, to the left of Venus, try to spot tiny, faint Mercury as it gleams in the morning twilight. It is approaching its highest position from the Sun, and appears nicely in the darkened sky more than an hour before sunrise. It was easily visible this week as it climbed quickly from the Sun glare.

The following morning, on Tuesday 9 January, the Moon will have moved further below Venus, to a position nearer to Mercury. This will not be an extremely close pairing, either, but it can help us find Mercury. The tiniest planet will appear to the upper left of the finer crescent Moon, about the same distance and angle of Venus the morning before.

Mercury, Venus, and the Moon will form a kind of neat triangle in the morning sky, with faintest Mercury above the line of Venus and Moon.

Faint Mars is below them all, in the glare of the Sun. It is slowly climbing higher each morning, and now rises almost an hour before the Sun. So, it is climbing high enough now to be spotted with a little luck, in the eastern sky, if you have a low and extremely clear eastern horizon.

Try to spot the fine crescent Moon on the morning of Wednesday 10 January, very low on the eastern horizon as the sky is brightening. Above the crescent Moon is tiny, distant Mars, only about four degrees from the Moon as they rise ahead of the Sun. It will be a difficult passage to view with the sky growing bright as they rise, but it’s worth a chance to see Mars for the first time in a couple of months.

Mars will now continue to climb further from the sunrise. And as Earth is slowly approaching it, the views of Mars will only improve. And all during the coming year, the views will continue to improve, as Mars climbs out of the glare, into the dark sky, as we continue to approach it and it brightens, slowly climbing high into our dark skies.

We have gone a few months without Mars, but as soon as we can spot it, the appearance will continue to improve, and we will be able to have fine views of the red planet for the entire year!

We are moving further from Saturn, which continues to dim in our evening western sky, as we move further and it appears lower.

Jupiter is still dominant high over head for most of the night, before setting, and abandoning the sky to the brilliant rise of Venus a couple of hours later.

So, the inner planets are really stealing the show in the morning sky this week, as Mercury is making a good appearance, and Mars is preparing to burst onto the stage in its slow, methodical fashion. And this week, we’ll let the Moon guide our way to view the planets, dim and brilliant alike.

With our dark skies here, they only need to be clear, so keep your eyes on the skies from sunset to sunrise.

Thanks for the positive feedback about our featured columns, and your continued interest in astronomy. If you have any questions or article requests, contact us at spacescape@rocketmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @ColoSpacEScapE for updates and additional viewing opportunities.

ASTRONOMICAL TIMES AND DISTANCES of naked-eye objects for this weekend.

Sun Set = 4:55 p.m.
5 minutes later than last week
91.407 million miles from Earth
1,282 miles further than last week
3,634 miles further than its nearest in January

Saturn Set = 8:45 p.m.
24 minutes earlier than last week
964.072 million miles from Earth
8,366,115 miles further than last week
149.493 million miles further than its nearest in August

Jupiter Set = 1:48 a.m.
27 minutes earlier than last week
424.885 million miles from Earth
9,664,915 miles further than last week
54.561 million miles further than its nearest in November

Moon Rise = 3:25 a.m.  
66 minutes later than last night
238,952 miles from Earth
3,521 miles nearer than last night
12,245 miles nearer than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,665 miles

Venus Rise = 4:30 a.m.
14 minutes later than last week
113.668 million miles from Earth
4,031,896 miles further than last week
86.830 million miles further than its nearest in August

Mercury Rise = 5:30 a.m.
17 minutes earlier than last week
101 minutes before the Sun
84.866 million miles from Earth
13,299,824 miles further than last week
21.689 million miles further than its nearest in December

Mars Rise = 6:16 a.m.
4 minutes earlier than last week
55 minutes before the Sun
223.394 million miles from Earth
2,028,193 miles nearer than last week
13.589 million miles nearer than its furthest in October

Sun Rise = 7:11 a.m.
1 minute later than last week
91.408 million miles from Earth
1,142 miles further than last night
3,284 miles further than last week
4,776 miles further than its nearest in January

New Moon occurs on Thursday, January 11th, at 4:57 a.m.

We’ve Gained 5 Minutes Of Daylight since last week, and 2 minutes since last month, and 8 minutes since the December Solstice.

Our Nearest Planetary Neighbor currently is Mercury.

Note: Times are local Mountain Time. Actual “sundown” is about a dozen minutes earlier than calculated “sunset”. Along the front range, differing times vary depending on your distance from the mountains.
________________
• · William J. Bechaver is the director of SPACE • Spanish Peaks Amateur Cosmos Enthusiasts, the premier Astronomical Society for Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

S·P·A·C·E•Date 16.1153 • 217

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