Planet Spotting

Despite my claims in the previous Pac Man Moon story, I do occasionally go outside at night and look up at the stars (especially at big events like eclipses, comets, meteors, etc). If you do also, then you might find this story of interest.

Apparently, Mercury was at its closest and Venus at its brightest this weekend, but as I was coughy-sick I didn't walk the 10 steps out of my door to take a look. However, we have another chance to see these planets in action. They will be roaming around the sky through April 12th in the paths illustrated here:
If you like looking at planets then take a gander at Saturn and Mars on either side of the Leo constellation (how to find it: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/spacewatch_leo_020322.html) around 9pm when the constellation is at its highest. You shouldn't need binoculars or a telescope to see them.

Read more here: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/about/pressreleases/89145892.html
and http://www.universetoday.com/2010/04/05/planet-dance/#more-61922