Just stepped outside to look at the stars. The air is cool and still after the cold snap over the weekend and the moon is waning and still below the horizon. Perfect viewing conditions. Orion is dipping down towards the sea in the west, chased by the mass of stars which leads into the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Arcing across the northern sky are the zodiacal constellations, through which the planets and the moon glide silently on their paths along the ecliptic. Majestic Jupiter with its dancing moons has dropped below the western horizon and Venus is astoundingly bright, close behind. High up in Leo, Mars is showing us its red soil and coming up in the east is my favourite planet, Saturn with its visible dust rings. These planets are all easily visible with the naked eye and are distinguishable from stars in that they do not twinkle, as they only reflect light and do not generate it, and are brighter than any stars by virtue of being closer to Earth than the nearest star.
Tonight I'm not going to bring out the telescope. I'm just going to lean back in my chair and enjoy the wider view. See if anything new appears, or disappears. Maybe spot a satellite or three. Or just stare out into deep space and contemplate the awesomeness of the universe, of which we know practically nothing and probably never will, but which doesn't need us to understand it anyway. We are just a part of the whole and it will continue to unfold as intended without any help or hindrance from humanity.
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