The Red Planet

Last night, after all the "sane" people around here had gone to bed, the dog and I jumped in the truck and drove 66 miles into the desert to the Observatory at Bruneau Dunes State Park. The weather was great, the view of the night sky from Bruneau was spectacular, and Mars was in perfect opposition with Earth!

As luck would have it, there was a tiny, barely visible patch of fog right in front of Mars last night. We could see Mars no problem, but it was hard to make out the details of the planet, like the Southern Ice Cap, just because everything was made just a little bit blurry by the fog. Further complicating the problem, there was a dust storm on Mars while I was in Bruneau. Of course, I'd never before seen a dust storm on Mars either.

Am I disappointed? Not at all! I had forgotten how many stars get "turned off" by the light from the city, even way out here where it seems very dark - and the view seems very good. The Observatory at Bruneau Dunes State Park is an Idaho Gem that I didn't know about before last night. And it's a place where I'll take my daughter to see the night sky when she gets a little older.

I'm tempted to go back to Bruneau tonight for a second try at Mars, but I'll probably choose to get some sleep instead. It was a VERY short night last night! On the other hand, Bogus Basin is just a short drive up the Mountain; and the view from the top of 7,582 foot Shafer Butte is also very, very good.

If you missed Mars last night, the view should be equally sensational tonight. And Mars will continue to be a prominent light in the night sky for another 30 days or so. After that, it's back to business as usual for the red planet.